Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

“I AM the Bread of Life,” Jesus told them.
“No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry,
and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.”
John 6:35 HCSB

(context)

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Wouldn’t that be amazing? To never be physically hungry or thirsty again? I struggle to keep myself at a healthy weight. It gets harder as the years roll by. Both 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 1 Corinthians 10:23 tell me that while everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial. As I grow older, more and more things are less and less beneficial. While I will continue to deal with physical hunger and thirst, the same does not have to be true spiritually.

As I was reading this passage, three key points struck me:

1. The Bread of Life never perishes (John 6:27) whereas material things perish and earthly food spoils.
2. The Bread of Life is given by God and comes down from Heaven (John 6:32-33). It is a gift freely given whereas we must work to provide food for ourselves. Our food comes from farms and companies that don’t always have our health or best interests at heart. The Divine Bread always gives us the very best.
3. The Bread of Life gives life to the world. It is spiritual sustenance for our souls. Physical food supports our earthly bodies temporarily. The Bread of Life provides for us eternally.

If only I desired the Bread of Life as much as I desire my favorite foods! Matthew 6:33 (NLT) says we are to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” The Greek word in this verse for ‘seek’ is zeteo (dzay-teh-o). One of the meanings for this word is ‘to crave’. We are made to crave God. When we do, He provides everything we need.

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Lord, thank You so much for being the Bread of Life. Help me crave You more than anything else. Remind me to focus on the eternal rather than the temporary. In Your Holy Name, Amen – It Is So!