Bible Truth

The Bread of Life

“Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

We have here the promise of the richest gift which heaven, in all its fulness, can bestow upon fallen man. The Lord Jesus, who made man, knew his recurring wants,—that he must eat and drink to sustain life,—but he also knew the value of eternal life. In the miracle he had just performed, he had revealed his power to provide for man’s physical necessities, even by methods outside of the ordinary course of nature.

Jesus had gone with his disciples apart into a desert place. But “a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.” Jesus saw the people seeking him and listening to his words. “And he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.”

So intent were the people in listening to the words of the Great Teacher, that they forgot their physical needs. By and by the day began to wear away. “Then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.” But Jesus saw the needs of the people. There were men and women who were faint and hungry, and mothers with babes in their arms and children clinging to their skirts. Nothing escaped the eye of the compassionate Saviour. He would not send them away fasting, but commanded, “Give ye them to eat.” And at his word that great multitude—“five thousand men, besides women and children”—were fed from “five barley loaves, and two small fishes.”

But the Lord did not wish the people to follow him for worldly gain. It was his work, not to foster, but to correct, the prevailing evil of intense devotion to earthly things to the neglect of the heavenly. “Labor not,” he said, “for the meat which perisheth.” They were not to devote all their God-given powers to securing the things of the world, which pass away with the using. Attention must also be given to that which “endureth unto everlasting life.” “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” What can compensate a man for the loss of eternal life in the kingdom of God?

Jesus opened before the people the necessity of knowing what is truth. He called their attention to the Scriptures. He carried their minds to the world beyond, to the very threshold of heaven, flushed with the living glories of infinity. He taught them that, in view of the solemn realities of the eternal world, the claims of God should engage their most earnest attention; but this would not incapacitate them for any essential duty. Jesus knew the real value of all that concerned the well-being of men in the varied interests of this life; but he saw the things of time become all-engrossing, while those of eternity were neglected. He set them before his hearers in their relative importance, assigning each its appropriate place.

God is continually at work to elevate the character, and to stamp it with his own moral image. Our hands and minds must often be employed about the things of this life; for our faculties are given us for use; but our connection with God may be maintained. God, the living God, and Jesus Christ rejoice with singing over the souls that are molded and fashioned after the divine image; and heavenly angels look with admiration upon the work of uplifting fallen humanity. In his work for us, God calls upon us to co-operate with him by placing ourselves in the channel of light, that we may be renewed by the mighty working of his power. Life is a sacred trust committed to us, and it must be weeded of all worldliness, that by our words and actions we may give evidence that God is working in us, to refine and elevate.

The enemy of God works also to keep under his own control the minds and wills of those whom Christ has purchased. He does not desire that man shall be uplifted, that his mind shall be taken from the things of this earth; and as an angel of light, he works to lead men in his own way. He knows that if the heart is engrossed with earthly things, if the time is taken up in laboring for the things that perish, the work of the Holy Spirit will not be discerned. He strives to magnify earthly cares and duties till they take the place of the things of God.

If the human agent allows himself to be ruled by this power, he will also carry on a warfare against good. His worst passions will be stirred in rebellion against heavenly things. His mind will be so filled with the things that perish that Christ will find no room for entrance. God will be dethroned from his heart, which is given to the service of another power. The capabilities which God designed to be used in his service will be enslaved in chains of sin.

God looked with sorrow upon the disregard which those whom he had created showed to their eternal interests. He so desired that they might be partakers of life everlasting, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. Christ is the Creator of the universe. “By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” Of old he laid the foundation of the world; the heavens are the work of his hand. By the arm of his power he upholds his creation.

Yet for our sakes, Christ came to the world, and suffered death upon the cross, that he might be, to all who would accept him, the bread of life. “I am the living bread,” he declares, “which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.... Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”

Those that eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood,—draw their life and strength from him,—become consecrated agents through whom God can work; but only to the humble in heart can this bread of life be imparted. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word.” The more humble our spirit, the less self is exalted, the deeper will be our interest in things of eternity, and the more effectually will God be able to use us as channels of blessing.

Many are starved and strengthless because, instead of eating of the bread which came down from heaven, they fill their minds with things of minor importance. But if the sinner will partake of the bread of life, he will, regenerated and restored, become a living soul. The bread sent down from heaven will infuse new life into his weakened energies. The Holy Spirit will take of the things of God, and show them to him; and if he will receive them, his character will be cleansed from all selfishness, and refined and purified for heaven.

To the careless, the indifferent, the unconcerned, those standing on the precipice of ruin, Christ says: Open the door of your heart; give me entrance, and I will make you a child of God. I will transform your weak, sinful nature into the divine image, giving it beauty and perfection.

As we receive physical strength by partaking of earthly food, so we are made strong by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Not only does Christ give us the bread of life; but the water of life, which he gives, is as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. It possesses life-giving properties and purifying efficacy; for it proceeds from the throne of God.

Those who will permit God to work in them will grow up unto the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. Every power of the mind and body will be used in the service of God. The soul will be renovated through divine truth. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion,” and behold your Saviour, Jesus, “the bread of life.” He has wonderful blessings to give to those who will receive him. He is mighty in strength and wonderful in counsel. By the ministration of the Holy Spirit, he seeks to impress his image upon our characters. If we will feed upon him, we shall become new creatures in Christ Jesus. The virtues of a true Christian character, the excellences that are revealed in the character of Christ, will be seen in the life born of the Spirit. Man, with his human nature, will become a partaker of divinity. The power of Christ will work to sanctify every part of the being, diffusing life, activity, and soundness through the whole, and developing spiritual efficiency.