July 23

The Bread of Life

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. — John 6:33 BSB

No bread that grows on the earth can nourish a human soul. In all our worldly efforts and ambitions, we focus only on our perishable body while neglecting the soul that dwells within, letting it starve. Recently, in a well-furnished home in the city, a family was found starving for bread. In the same way, many souls are starving while their bodies are luxuriously cared for. A soul cannot be fed by grains and fruits. The finest earthly luxuries can never satisfy the hunger of a soul.

Manna is called "angels’ food" once in the Bible, but this is only a poetic expression referring to the fact that it fell from the sky. Manna wasn’t really food for angels; it was food for human bodies, not spirits. Angels couldn’t live on it. Imagine an angel residing in a millionaire’s mansion on earth. Would the angel care about the opulent furnishings or the luxurious meals served at the rich man’s table? Souls and angels are much alike in their needs; both are spirits, and neither can survive on material food. Yet many people live as though their souls can be clothed in earthly finery and fed with worldly pleasures.

True bread for souls must come down from heaven. The soul’s nature is to crave immortal things. It hungers for the forgiveness of sins, for peace, for communion with God, for holiness, for Christ-likeness, and for the restoration of divine favor. The bread that satisfies these spiritual hungers must come from heaven. It comes in the form of mercy, grace, love, and divine friendship—gifts of life. This bread cannot be found on any earthly table; it grows in no earthly place. It can only come from God. Our souls hunger and thirst for God, the living God.