I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM 'THE VINE' (A Devotional ... sent to me by Pastor D) 
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Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." - John 6:29

People are puzzled and wonder how they can eat spiritual food. They cannot see it and cannot take it into their hands. When they are told to work for the food which gives eternal life they ask how they can do it. Here Christ says that the way to work for the spiritual food is to “believe in Him.”

Of course believing in Christ must be taken in its fullest sense. Merely believing that bread will satisfy hunger will not in itself satisfy any hungry man; he must eat of the bread and digest the nutrients in it. In the same way, merely believing that Christ is able to meet all our soul's needs will not in itself bring to us spiritual satisfaction. Christ must be received into our lives.

There are different ways of believing. One may read in a book on astronomy that the sun is some ninety-three million miles away. He or she believes the statement but it has no particular effect on his living tomorrow. It is not calculated to have any effect of this kind, but when he reads that whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved, the truth is meant to bless him by leading him or her: first of all to entrust himself or herself to Christ for salvation, then to follow Him as his Master, then to have his or her unholy life transformed into beauty like Christ's. That is how it is with all spiritual truth.

The mere reception of it is not enough; it must be digested, as food is digested in the body. The Bible verses of the morning must become the Christian's joy or refuge, inspiration or warning or transforming influence throughout the day's struggles and burdens. It must be clear also that we are not to get this spiritual food by working for it but by believing in Christ.

We live by faith -- not works alone.

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Reference: John 6: 35-40

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”