One of my favorite pieces of literature tells a story of a quest. On this quest, the key characters are given an allotment of special bread to sustain them on their journey. It\u2019s a long, hard road, and they have to carefully ration their bread so that it carries them through to the end. But there isn\u2019t enough for the return journey. Some of the bread gets lost along the way, and there\u2019s only enough to strengthen them for the final grueling climb up the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, these two characters do make it back home again, but their bread isn\u2019t what saves them. They are rescued through forces of good that are outside their control\u2014what you might call \u201cdivine intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just two chapters ago, we saw Jesus offer what only He could to the Samaritan woman: living water. He helped her understand His nature as the only One who is truly able to provide everything we need for life. Likewise, in John 6, Jesus expanded on this imagery by declaring that He also satisfies the hungry. \u201cNo one who comes to me will ever be hungry,\u201d said Jesus to the crowd at Capernaum, \u201cand no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again\u201d (John 6:35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What stands out to me in today\u2019s passage is that the crowd already had a story that contextualizes what Jesus is saying. On one hand, the people are tracking. They\u2019re familiar with the stories of their ancestors that tell of God\u2019s provision in the wilderness. They knew their heritage and how God provided the Israelites with bread from heaven to sustain them on their journey (Exodus 16:4). But they were also confused. They were hung up on tangible signs and the kind of bread you can chew and tear apart in your hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With full bellies and curious hearts, they questioned Jesus in a verbal exchange that\u2019s almost humorous. But Jesus was trying to refocus their vision on eternal things. Miraculous loaves and fish or heavenly bread in the wilderness were not just intended to fill their bellies. They were prophetic meals that pointed to something that would truly last forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m grateful for stories of great literature that remind us of God\u2019s divine provision amid our limitations. Physical food and drink only take us so far. Jesus, the Bread of Life, never runs out (John 6:35), and He alone sustains us for the long and difficult journey ahead. He is the nourishment we feast on. There are no circumstances beyond His control. His grace and provision will see us through to the end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of my favorite pieces of literature tells a story of a quest. On this quest, the key characters are given an allotment of special bread to sustain them on their journey. It\u2019s a long, hard road, and they have to carefully ration their bread so that it carries them through to the end. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":72654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[305],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-john25"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[72756],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"THE BREAD OF LIFE<\/b>
\r\nby Bailey Gillespie<\/i>
\r\n
One of my favorite pieces of literature tells a story of a quest. On this quest, the key characters are given an allotment of special bread to sustain them on their journey. It\u2019s a long, hard road, and they have to carefully ration their bread so that it carries them through to the end. But there isn\u2019t enough for the return journey. Some of the bread gets lost along the way, and there\u2019s only enough to strengthen them for the final grueling climb up the mountain.<\/p>
\r\n
In the end, these two characters do make it back home again, but their bread isn\u2019t what saves them. They are rescued through forces of good that are outside their control\u2014what you might call \u201cdivine intervention.\u201d<\/p>
\r\n
Just two chapters ago, we saw Jesus offer what only He could to the Samaritan woman: living water. He helped her understand His nature as the only One who is truly able to provide everything we need for life. Likewise, in John 6, Jesus expanded on this imagery by declaring that He also satisfies the hungry. \u201cNo one who comes to me will ever be hungry,\u201d said Jesus to the crowd at Capernaum, \u201cand no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again\u201d (John 6:35).<\/p>
\r\n
What stands out to me in today\u2019s passage is that the crowd already had a story that contextualizes what Jesus is saying. On one hand, the people are tracking. They\u2019re familiar with the stories of their ancestors that tell of God\u2019s provision in the wilderness. They knew their heritage and how God provided the Israelites with bread from heaven to sustain them on their journey (Exodus 16:4). But they were also confused. They were hung up on tangible signs and the kind of bread you can chew and tear apart in your hands.<\/p>
\r\n
With full bellies and curious hearts, they questioned Jesus in a verbal exchange that\u2019s almost humorous. But Jesus was trying to refocus their vision on eternal things. Miraculous loaves and fish or heavenly bread in the wilderness were not just intended to fill their bellies. They were prophetic meals that pointed to something that would truly last forever.<\/p>
\r\n
I\u2019m grateful for stories of great literature that remind us of God\u2019s divine provision amid our limitations. Physical food and drink only take us so far. Jesus, the Bread of Life, never runs out (John 6:35), and He alone sustains us for the long and difficult journey ahead. He is the nourishment we feast on. There are no circumstances beyond His control. His grace and provision will see us through to the end.<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"10","scripture":"John 6:22-71, Exodus 16:4-5, Jeremiah 31:25","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}