Bread for Life

Scripture Reading: John 6:41-51

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  Whoever eats of this bread will live forever… (v. 51)

Mythical stories of a “fountain of youth” have permeated cultures the world over for thousands of years.  From Herodotus’ tales of special water in Ethiopia that were said to extend human life, to Juan Ponce de Leon’s search for Bimini we discover an unquenchable thirst in the human heart to live and not die.

More recently, the search for the “fountain of youth” has turned scientific.  Some are resorting to things like genetic research, calorie restrictive diets and nanotechnologies to find a way to live and not die.

Rightly does the Scripture testify that God has put eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Still, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that “it is appointed for mortals to die once” (9:27).  Into the gap between this God-given longing for life and the stark reality of death steps Jesus.  He gives his life up to death so that we might have life beyond death.

Everyone who receives Christ as the “bread of life” will live forever.  In him we have the sure promise of life beyond death.