“I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE”
MERRY MONDAY BY PARRIS BAILEY-
We need to starve our self-righteousness.
Jesus couldn’t hold back anymore. He had to say something and say it loudly. Just like the Jewish people that were lost and without a shepherd so it is today. I think one of the hardest things in life is to watch people suffer. Watch them entangle themselves in the cares of the world, watch them get heartbroken and let down like so many others. Christ came to gives us bread. Charles Spurgeon said, “Now God has set forth Christ for men. There is in Christ what man wants. As bread meets his hunger, as the cup meets his thirst, so Christ meets all the spiritual wants of mankind. And the soul that would live, and the soul that would rejoice, must come to God’s provision for his living and his rejoicing, and that provision is to be found in Jesus Christ crucified. God set forth Christ of old. Even in the garden, he set him forth in the first promise. He continued to set him forth by all the prophets, and in this last day every veil has been taken away by an open Bible inviting all comers. God has set forth the bread of life to the sons of men. God has made a feast of fat things for the sons of men in the person of Jesus Christ.”
Do we come to Christ daily to receive this bread? Like the manna in the wilderness, the Jewish people had to leave their tents in search of this manna—–everyday. What they ate, sustained them throughout the 40 years in the wilderness. Sometimes we have to say to ourselves, “where has my beloved gone” and go into the streets of the city asking the watchmen. She finds him as she looks for him. I pray even in this Monday morning and throughout the week, you too can find this hidden manna. There is in Christ all that a man could ever want. Does he satisfy your soul?
Spurgeon goes onto to say, “When the last crust is gone from his cupboard, he will cry to the great Giver of the bread of life, whereof, if a man eat, he shall live for ever. You must starve the sinner’s self-righteousness to make him willing to feed on Christ; and thus the very depths of his despair, when he thinks that he must be lost for ever, will only lead him, by God’s abundant love, to a fuller appreciation of the heights of God’s grace.” Creating a Holy Ghost hunger in us daily is God’s great work upon sinners and the righteous. I find myself “stirring up his gifts within me” to seek this great treasure. I keep on my kitchen window a empty glass jar that once held scented oil. Its a reminder to me to push through the crowd and pour my “substance” out onto Him. In doing so, I find His bread, His supply more than enough!