The Bread of Life

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:41 am Post subject: The Bread of Life

And you shall remember all the way through which the Lord your God has brought you for forty years through the desert, to afflict you and to prove you, and that the things that were in your heart might be made known, whether you would keep his commandments or no. He afflicted you with want, and gave you manna for your food, which neither you nor your fathers knew: to show that not in bread alone does man live, but in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Your heart be lifted up, and do not forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and was you leader in the great and terrible wilderness, wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath, and the scorpion and the dipsas, and no waters at all: who brought forth streams out of the hardest rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers knew not. And after he had afflicted and proved you, at the last he had mercy upon you. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16)

Why should God allow challenges to be set before us? The answer is found in how we respond. We do not learn much of ourselves in comfort. We learn about our true self in times of fear and stress. We learn if we are afraid. We learn if we have courage. We learn if we are selfish. We learn if we are selfless. We learn if we seek our own desires or the will of God.

In the face of challenge, we learn that we cannot control all by ourselves, by setting our own rules. While we may strive to establish comfort for ourselves, we can but succeed for a small portion in time. Though we may find the food of the ground, we cannot live by that food alone, for it is fleeting. The food of eternal life is different, for it fills the soul. Blessed are those who have faced challenge and found themselves responding selflessly and seeking the guiding hand of God, for they have found the true path to everlasting joy and peace.

The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? For we, being many, are one bread, one body, all that partake of one bread. (1 Corinthians 16-17)

The bread given to our forefathers, who escaped slavery, sustained them for a moment of time, but if each was left alone to their own purposes, would they have survived? So then, how do we expect to survive if our only intentions are for ourselves? In this day, if we were all left to forage as individuals, what manner of chaos would we find? Much of what we have is provided through the hands of another. It is through our work that others receive the benefits of our hands.

Why, then, should it surprise us that our Lord asks that we join in one body? It is for the love and benefit of all. Why, then, should it surprise us that our Lord asks us to consume His body, His blood, so that we are nourished. It is this question which is hard for many, for how is it we can eat the flesh and drink the blood of man; but we should stop to think, the body and blood of Christ is of God. As we are nourished by the Son, so too, are we nourished by the Holy Spirit and the Father; one God, forever and ever.

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me, the same also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eats this bread, shall live for ever. ( John 51-58 )

It was not easy for many to accept what they were being told. Through the generations, some have tried to explain the instruction by our Savior to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood as some sort of symbolism; but to truly understand, we must open our hearts and listen with our soul. The Son of God was not sent to us as a simple messenger, for God had many angels and prophets to serve that purpose. The Son of God was not sent only to minister to the sick and the lame, for God could anoint any saint for this purpose. Certainly, He brought us the Word, and performed miracles, but for all these things, the Son of God was not sent to entice us to the hand of God, but to save our very souls from the sin which consumes us.

How is it that we can be saved, then, if we are not fed? The food of the body and blood of the Son is not just to sustain us in this time, but to nourish our souls so that as we pass from this world, we will remain one in the body of Christ and will be nourished forever.

It is not what we consume of this world which will bring us to everlasting life, but what we consume of the Son sent to us by God. It is not mere symbols of words which will nourish our soul, but the Word made flesh which was sent to us by the Father. Our soul is not nourished by the bread of the ground, but the bread sent by heaven. Our soul is not nourished by the blood from that which treads the earth, but the blood sent by our Father.

If we believe in Him, we will have everlasting life. If we believe in Him, we will nourish our souls as He instructed us. If we believe in Him, we will eat the bread, which is made His body, and drink the wine, which is made His blood. If we believe in Him, we will do this in memory of Him as He instructed us. If we believe in Him, we will follow His commandment to love one another as He loves us.

Conversely, if we do not believe in Him, we will convert His words only for our purpose. If we do not believe in Him, we will walk in motions for social benefit and selfish reward. If we do not believe in Him, we will deceive one another and act for our own selfish desires. If we do not believe in Him, we will proclaim our faith, but not live as He taught. If we do not believe in Him, we will not follow His Word. If we do not believe in Him, we will not consume the true body and blood. If we do not believe in Him, we will not be in Him, nor will He be in us. If we do not believe in Him, we will be left to ourselves; and then, when our challenges in this world are done, we will be left to the abyss and the company of the anguished souls who were given the opportunity of salvation, but for whatever reason, believed not in Him or His Word, but in words of their own design.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier