Unless you eat ... you have no life in you.

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

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For centuries religious people have taken things meant to be spiritual and made them something physical. When Jesus speaks of eating his flesh and drinking his blood he is speaking a profound spiritual truth and not some twisted theological mumbo jumbo. Sadly many miss the point entirely. It was just a few verses back that Jesus spoke of how his food was doing the will of the Father. His declarations here are a mere continuance of that thought. We are challenged here to quench our appetites in similar manner.

When he talks of abiding Jesus speaks deeply to us of our need to find our very life and nourishment in doing his will. In the very same way that he abided in the Father we should abide in the Son. It is an issue of life. Do we get our life from our fleshly pursuits or do we experience life by walking in His Spirit? We cannot have it both ways. Our minds and our hearts must be set on feeding on the bread that came down from heaven. For this is the bread that will produce life today and will nourish us unto eternal life.

I need the Bread of Heaven Lord. I delight to do your will. Come Holy Spirit and fill me anew.