June 22

This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever. — John 6:58 BSB

"We had the sentence of death in ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead; who delivered us from such a great peril of death, and will deliver us again; we have set our hope on Him that He will yet deliver us." This was the supernatural secret of Paul's life—he continually drew from the strength of Christ, his risen Lord. To him, the body that rose from Joseph's tomb was a physical reality and the inexhaustible source of his vital strength. He imparts to us the same secret: "We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." The Lord is for the body, and the body is for the Lord. What a marvelous truth! Divine Elixir of Life and Fountain of Perpetual Youth! Earnest of the Resurrection! Fulfillment of ancient psalms and songs of faith! "The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Beloved, have we learned this secret? Are we living the life of the Incarnate One in our own bodies?