As I consider this world with all of its current perils, it causes me to wonder. What if… We were to yearn for the Lord and hunger for the Truth as we do so many other things? As I remember the times with family during the holidays, and the smells coming from the kitchen, or the smell from walking by my favorite restaurant, or bakery, I now think deeply upon the words of Jesus Christ.
“And 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.” – John 6:35. “I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 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, which I will give for the life of the world.” – John 6:48-51.
What if… We desired the Word as much, or more than what we have in this world? What would happen if we were literally to salivate over the Truth? Is that even possible? Although I haven’t the answer, “With God, all things are possible.”
I remember a morning, years ago, when the times were simpler. In fact, the world was nothing like what it currently is. I was near Lancaster, PA celebrating New Years with many family members, as was an early family tradition. We were all at breakfast and I was fairly young. I remember coming to what I believe was my first breakfast buffet experience. Upon looking at all of the delicacies, cakes, fruits, and appetizing delights, I asked a family member a question. What is all of this? His response to me seemed to roll off of the tip of his tongue, “Smörgåsbord.” I was in an earthly Heaven. All things considered, nothing could have been any better than at that moment. And the bacon? Well yes, even it was piled high.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him… It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
While Jesus was tempted 40 days in the wilderness, the devil appeared to Him. “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” As we are told by the Messiah, our life only comes by the very words of Jesus Christ. And not just some of them. We need all of them to live. His teachings and His message is the New Testament, or the New Covenant, that we now have from the Father. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” – Galatians 3:24-25. We are now to live even better.
Let’s now consider John 4 and Jacob’s well. “Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour… Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water… But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.” – John 12:24-26. “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” – John 12:49-50.
As I remember that “Smörgåsbord” experience and all of the preparation, time, and care, I now know something far greater. By losing everything in this life, by letting go, by looking up, as it was in the beginning, and by serving others, we will find no greater joy, life everlasting. In the parables where thousands are fed, it is always Jesus giving to His disciples. Then His disciples distribute to those waiting to be fed. And in one parable, even the fragments are gathered up in “twelve” baskets, so nothing was lost.
Let go of what is behind you. Let go of the person, that you once were. Become something greater for the Kingdom of our Father. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14. May you continually be blessed, even unto the very end.
The Bible Unveiled 