Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35
Jesus says He is the Bread of Life and if we come to Him we will never be hungry or thirsty. He says this to the crowd that he had fed the day before. It wasn't a small crowd, it was 5,000 people. Not only did He fed them, He fed them with five small loaves of bread and two small fish! Because the crowd's hunger was satisfied they crossed the lake in search of Him the next day. Upon finding Jesus, they start to question Him. Jesus tells them they followed Him because they "ate the loaves and had your fill," not because of who He is.
Then Jesus tells them to work for food that "endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." The crowd asked, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus' answer is simple, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." Jesus than tells them that it is God, not Moses, that gives them the bread of heaven and this bread "gives life to the world."
Wow, give me some of that bread! My response is the same as the hearers of Jesus' words, so Jesus tells them and us that He is the Bread of Life. I am struck by the questions the people had. They had just witnessed a miracle in which their hunger was satisfied, yet they still don't get it. They actually start to grumble, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?"
One minute they are seeking Jesus and asking for the Bread of Life and the next they are saying, "Who does He think He is?" What does He mean by "I am the Bread of Life?" It is as if they are saying, "what have you done for us lately?" How often do I say the same thing? How quickly we forget!
The thing is Jesus is not making any big demands, this isn't one of those hard lessons like giving up your wealth or loving your neighbor. He just says "believe in me; I am the one God sent." It seems so simple but when push comes to shove the people want signs. Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five small loaves of bread and two small fish is not enough. We want more! I wonder what would have been enough of a sign, what is it that they needed to see? What do I need to see?
I often joke that I want a flashing neon sign when I am being called to do something. I don't want questions or doubt. I want the certainty that I am doing what God is calling me to do, that I am doing God's work. But, if I truly am doing God's work, which is to believe in Jesus, no neon sign is necessary because anything I do out of my faith in Jesus is God's work. And in doing that work I will be fulfilled; I will not be hungry or thirsty. Jesus will be there giving me the ability and strength to complete the task at hand.
As we start the new year I want to do God's work, believe in Jesus. I don't want to say, "but isn't this the son of Joseph?" I don't want to question His authority. I want to just believe, not make demands, not ask for signs and miracles. I want to keep my eyes open for those signs. I want to believe even when I don't see the signs of Jesus working in my life. This is a New Year's Resolution worth keeping - I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will help me keep this one.
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