November 8, 2004

THE LIFE-GIVING BREAD

"This is the bread which came down from heaven... He who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:58,, NKJV).

In His memorable discourse about bread from heaven, Jesus made the stunning declaration that He is "the bread which came down from heaven" and that "he who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:58, NKJV).

This far-reaching claim offered a new dimension to the metaphor of bread. Physical bread is eaten to provide nutrition and nourishment to those who are alive. But Christ, the bread from heaven, imparts, perpetuates, and sustains a life that is eternal in duration. The life-giving bread sustains life that is eternal both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Like natural bread, the bread from heaven is to be eaten, digested, and assimilated on a continuing basis. It must become natural and habitual to partake of the life-giving, life-sustaining bread. Christ is God's continual gift to all who receive Him by faith. The gift of eternal life is contingent on a sustained and continuing relationship with Jesus our Saviour and Lord. As we depend on daily food for sustenance, so must the Christian depend on the life-giving bread for eternal life.

The good news about this life-giving, life-sustaining bread is that by eating it here and now, eternal life becomes a present reality--not a mere future expectation. The life we have in Christ is a quality life which we begin to enjoy and appreciate now in preparation for the guaranteed future of the perfect world to come. Ellen G. White expresses it eloquently: "Those who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting life. It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal."--The Desire of Ages, p. 388.

My Prayer Today: Lord, You are the life-giving bread from heaven. Help me to constantly eat this bread that I may live forever. Amen.