I Love Hot Homemade Bread!  You can tell that by looking at me.  It is one of my favorite foods.  When my Kristin was little, I had a sourdough starter that she and I kept going for many years.   We ate it, gave it as gifts, and ate some more of it.  Lots of people were fed bread because of that one sourdough starter. Bread is interesting to me.  The more bread that I eat, the more I want. It is hard for me to eat just one slice….I even like to go back and have it “for dessert” after my meal is over.  I actually crave a good warm roll with butter.  Jesus tells us in John 6 that He is the bread of life.  That makes me wonder, do I crave Him like I do a piece of warm bread?

Take a moment and read John 6. It’s the first time Jesus miraculously feeds thousands of people. You remember the story, crowds of people came to see Jesus. They wanted Jesus to meet their physical needs. They followed him across the Sea of Galilee because they wanted more. The meal from the day before was not enough (6:2,26). The crowd had watched him heal the sick; they had heard the stories of Jesus. The news of all He was doing was rapidly spreading. The crowd wanted to be on the receiving end of any physical blessing they could get from him. WAIT. Is that who I am? Do I only look for what God can do for me?  Do I only seek him to take care of me or my family and friends?  Why is it that when I spend time alone with God, my prayers tend to go straight to taking care of the physical? Jesus tells us there is so much more. What does it mean to hunger for Jesus, to crave for Him like I do bread? He tells us that we will never hunger again if we eat of him. (John 6:35)

A few years back I heard the story of the Uruguay rugby team that was on its way to a match in Chile when they crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972. Dr. Roberto Canessa was one of the survivors of the crash. He was a medical student. After impact, he realized that the plane was ripped in two.  There was a blizzard whipping around them. Immediately Dr. Canessa and other survivors started taking stock of their situation. Twelve of the 45 on the plane died in the crash. Temperatures were below zero. Clothing items had to be found, seats had to be turned into shoes and jackets. Food was rationed. They were optimistic that help would come. After all, the Chilean authorities knew that the plane went down in the foothills of Chile. Days passed. Six more men died. No help arrived.  Storms continued around them. They could not hike out for help; the weather and their strength would not allow it. Things were looking hopeless.  They were beginning to starve.

Decisions had to be made to survive. They needed food. They needed nourishment. There was no vegetation or animal life, anywhere.  Nothing. Nothing to eat. The answer for nourishment laid before them. The bodies of their friends that had died laid frozen and preserved. It was the protein and nourishment that they needed. No one wanted to think about it.  It was more than they could bear. Dr. Canessa writes, “For a long time we agonized. I went out in the snow and prayed to God for guidance. Without His consent, I felt I would be violating the memory of my friends; that I would be stealing their souls.” Dr. Canessa continues, “Javier Methol, at 35 the oldest of our group, told us he, too, had prayed for help from above. He said that God told him to think of it like Holy Communion. Javier recited the New Testament verses to us: ‘He who eats of my flesh and drinks of my blood will have eternal life. Take and eat, this is my body’”.  Dr. Roberto Canessa Story

These men gained life through eating the bodies of their friends. Dr. Canessa said that after he thought about it, he would have wanted his friends to use his flesh to help them live.  If it came down to it, he wanted them to be sustained and continue their life. We too gain life through consuming Jesus.  HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE. He wants us to consume Him. He wants us to be filled with Him. Without Jesus our lives are left wanting, starving, hollow.

We go through life looking for something to nourish our souls, to satisfy us. We might look for satisfaction in a relationship or through travel. Maybe it is our social status or our things. Maybe it’s (you fill in the blank).All of these things leave us starving, wanting more.  If I count on my relationship with my spouse to fulfill me, I have a large hole inside when he disappoints me. If my life is fulfilled because of travel, when I get home from my big trip, I am left wanting. I start planning the next big trip. If my life is filled because of my social status, my insides are hollow when a friend becomes angry with me. If it is material things that I seek to fill my void, as soon as the new has worn off, I want the newest fad (I personally struggle with all the cool Apple products….wish they would not put out so many new products out so close together.)  My point is that it is only through my relationship with The Bread of Life that I am filled. My time alone with my Lord fills my soul. It feeds me, so I will be strong and ready to battle satan. It leaves me nourished, ready to face the challenges of life.  It leaves me full and ready so I can be poured into others. Don’t look to the “junk food” of life.  Turn to the Bread of Life.  Eat. Be Filled.

Blessings – Cherie