57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Got life? Get Jesus. There is a billboard sign in my city which reads “Shop for Life” advertising a nutritional grocery store advocating organically grown healthy foods. Their slogan penetrated my core. Certainly it is important to choose a wholesome and beneficial diet laden with rich nutrition for strong physical bodies yet what about our spiritual life? We find these words regarding our Savior in the first chapter of John:
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:3-5 (NIV)
In the ultimate sense, life is in Jesus. Both man’s physical and spiritual life come from above – life being man’s most important asset the loss of which is tragic. Over and over again throughout the gospels Jesus states He is life and it is through our faith in Him that we are assured the abundance of life in the here and now and eternal life in the hereafter.
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? " John 11:25-26 (NIV)
6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NIV)
“The only Christ for whom there is a shred of evidence is a miraculous figure making stupendous claims.” C. S. Lewis
No one can argue that life is indeed brief therefore our time for decision is at hand. Scripture tells us:
27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Heb 9:27-28 (NIV)
Sadly and unfortunately, those who are awaiting Jesus’ return constitute a smaller circle than those for which He came to die – those for whom His death has benefitted - that being the whole world. I was reminded of the words of Moses to the Israelites in Deuteronomy regarding choosing well:
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deut 30:19-20 (NIV)
Moses’ successor Joshua offered a similar plea to the people stating his own firm resolution towards this Godly goal – spurring them for their good and God’s glory:
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Josh 24:14-15 (NIV)
“The great difficulty is to get modern audiences to realize that you are preaching Christianity solely and simply because you happen to think it true; they always suppose you are preaching it because you like it or think it good for society or something of that sort...” C.S. Lewis
Jesus in familiar Jewish instructing mode ends His discourse on the Bread of Life by recapping Truth previously stated. Repetition, repetition, repetition was the mainstay of Jewish teaching which emphasized to the hearer the importance of what was being taught. Indeed, the “Shema” – considered to be one of the most important texts in the Old Testament - found in Deuteronomy, attests to this fact:
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deut 6:4-9 (NIV)