LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Bread of Life
When we are hungry, we feel the need to satiate it. We have schedules for eating, and if we don't eat something in that time, we will be uncomfortable. But, once we are fed, we no longer feel discomfort, but satisfaction. So it is also with our Christian life. "For the bread of God is he who came down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (Jn. 6:33-35).
The big problem is that many people are not satisfied with God's bread and water alone. For them, Christ alone, bread and water alone, are not enough. They need to supplement that with other kinds of food.
As in the temptation in the wilderness, many today make the same claim: "And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: and the children of Israel said unto them, Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat at the pots of flesh, when we did eat bread to our fill: for ye have brought us out into this wilderness to kill all this multitude with hunger" (Ex. 16:2-3).
Those who seek to satisfy their thirst and hunger outside the person of Christ are never satisfied. Some seek gifts, others prosperity, others ministries, others healing; seeking outside what they can only find in Christ. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so my soul panteth after thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and stand before God?" (Ps. 42:1-2).
Religion is man's quest to satisfy his need outside of Christ. If we are not satisfied in him, we will always be hungry, looking for something to eat or drink (Jn. 4:13-14). What we need is the bread and water of God; this bread is sufficient and needs no addition (Jn. 6:50-51). We have much spiritual hunger and thirst, but we will only find full satisfaction in Christ. "For my people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water" (Jer. 2:13).
Are you satisfied with the bread from heaven and the living water? This water will be in you a fountain springing up to eternal life. "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (Jn. 7:37-38).