I am the bread of life
This post is brought to you by Pastor Ricky Jacob, our Lutheran Indian Ministries Associate Pastor serving the Winnebago people of Nebraska.
When Moses spoke to God at the burning bush, he asked for God’s name. And God replied, “I am who I am.”
This devotion series will reflect on Jesus’ “I am” statements in the Gospel, who He says He is, namely the Son of God.
Today’s “I am” statement is: I am the Bread of Life.
Bread is a staple food for people all around the world. Bread comes in various grains, sizes, and shapes. Each ethnic group has its own bread of choice: the Native Americans have fry bread; the Greeks have pita bread; the Latin Americans have tortillas. Each has their own distinct texture and taste.
A feast would not be complete without one form of bread or another.
Bread and life go together.
Who would pass up the Bread of Life?
That is what Jesus is offering you today.
You see, Jesus referred to himself as bread. Jesus had just fed 5,000 men, plus women and children. Then He gave this “I am” statement:
I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
John 6:35-37
I’m sure you have eaten bread in one form or another. But have you eaten the Bread of Life?
Do you believe in Jesus as the very Son of God?
Have you eaten Christ’s body found in the Lord’s Supper, or would you rather go hungry?
Jesus is offering you life through His sacrificial death on the cross – it is received by the Grace of God, through faith in Him. The one that believes in Him as the Son of God will not need to hunger for anything else than Christ’s body.
I close with these words:
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
