John 6:35
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."
Jesus says this profound words to the Jews after he fed the 5000 and it resulted in the Jews grumbling unhappily as they viewed him as the son of Joseph and the physical impossibilities of "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?".
Taken literally by the people, they struggled to understand why Jesus was talking about something so cannibalistic and extremist - "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."
Its not an easy concept to understand - the idea of "eat" the flesh and "drink" the blood of Christ. Especially as we take it at literal means, its such a scandalised doctrine. Just like the disciples, when I first chanced upon this chapter in John, I found it to be hard teaching.
Yet in the midst of this hard to imagine/swallow idea of 'cannibalism', I realised that that's what Christ was trying to state. To follow Him requires us to make a strong conscious effort to partake in something which the world considers controversial.
When Jesus spoke of one needing to "eat" and "drink" of Christ, He was clearly stating that He was not after a shallow, mumbo jumbo disciple by name. Talk is cheap, to walk the talk requires conviction and action of surety.
Eating & drinking food and water are everyday affairs that we partake for sustaining our bodies- leading to good health. Eating and drinking of Christ is also a everyday affair to describe how we are to dwell in Christ and Him in us - leading to eternal life. More than physical sustenence, Christ also promises to fuel our life with LIFE.
The greek word for LIFE here is Zao (Zavw) and as a verb, it is translated as "active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God". So Christ was promising that we who willingly commit ourselves as His disciples would benefit from an active, blessed life, endless in the kingdom of God.
What Jesus offers is an attractive proposition of never needing to feel the hunger pangs of the soul's need for endless successes in life, and the parched thirst of the spirit when we wane in stress and afflict ourselves for failing to meet up to life's measures. Especially relevant to us who are so low in the world's hierarchy that all we do is look up at the successful rats of the rat race and we become so consumed with getting better grades, being able to go to a more prestigeous school/company , having more money, more physical securities such as good careers, homes, titles, cars, and lifestyles to enjoy. The reality of what Christ promises as you partake of Him and walk according to His expectations is this - Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
This is why in His encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus stuns her with the similiar attractive promise of never thirsting again. "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. John 4:14". Having gone from man to man to satisfy her sexual, emotional, physical and social needs, she still found an empty void in her life that could not be satisfied. Thus, immediately she responds in eagerness "give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw".
I know its hard to ignore the compelling reasons to succeed in life and everything we are doing now. I'm not encouraging you to drop everything and become a reclusive monk/nun, but to constantly look to Him like Peter did "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
Blessings,
M.
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." John 6:63
18 October 2006
Never Hunger, Never Thirst
John 6:35
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."
Jesus says this profound words to the Jews after he fed the 5000 and it resulted in the Jews grumbling unhappily as they viewed him as the son of Joseph and the physical impossibilities of "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?".
Taken literally by the people, they struggled to understand why Jesus was talking about something so cannibalistic and extremist - "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."
Its not an easy concept to understand - the idea of "eat" the flesh and "drink" the blood of Christ. Especially as we take it at literal means, its such a scandalised doctrine. Just like the disciples, when I first chanced upon this chapter in John, I found it to be hard teaching.
Yet in the midst of this hard to imagine/swallow idea of 'cannibalism', I realised that that's what Christ was trying to state. To follow Him requires us to make a strong conscious effort to partake in something which the world considers controversial.
When Jesus spoke of one needing to "eat" and "drink" of Christ, He was clearly stating that He was not after a shallow, mumbo jumbo disciple by name. Talk is cheap, to walk the talk requires conviction and action of surety.
Eating & drinking food and water are everyday affairs that we partake for sustaining our bodies- leading to good health. Eating and drinking of Christ is also a everyday affair to describe how we are to dwell in Christ and Him in us - leading to eternal life. More than physical sustenence, Christ also promises to fuel our life with LIFE.
The greek word for LIFE here is Zao (Zavw) and as a verb, it is translated as "active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God". So Christ was promising that we who willingly commit ourselves as His disciples would benefit from an active, blessed life, endless in the kingdom of God.
What Jesus offers is an attractive proposition of never needing to feel the hunger pangs of the soul's need for endless successes in life, and the parched thirst of the spirit when we wane in stress and afflict ourselves for failing to meet up to life's measures. Especially relevant to us who are so low in the world's hierarchy that all we do is look up at the successful rats of the rat race and we become so consumed with getting better grades, being able to go to a more prestigeous school/company , having more money, more physical securities such as good careers, homes, titles, cars, and lifestyles to enjoy. The reality of what Christ promises as you partake of Him and walk according to His expectations is this - Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
This is why in His encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus stuns her with the similiar attractive promise of never thirsting again. "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. John 4:14". Having gone from man to man to satisfy her sexual, emotional, physical and social needs, she still found an empty void in her life that could not be satisfied. Thus, immediately she responds in eagerness "give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw".
I know its hard to ignore the compelling reasons to succeed in life and everything we are doing now. I'm not encouraging you to drop everything and become a reclusive monk/nun, but to constantly look to Him like Peter did "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
Blessings,
M.
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." John 6:63
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."
Jesus says this profound words to the Jews after he fed the 5000 and it resulted in the Jews grumbling unhappily as they viewed him as the son of Joseph and the physical impossibilities of "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?".
Taken literally by the people, they struggled to understand why Jesus was talking about something so cannibalistic and extremist - "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."
Its not an easy concept to understand - the idea of "eat" the flesh and "drink" the blood of Christ. Especially as we take it at literal means, its such a scandalised doctrine. Just like the disciples, when I first chanced upon this chapter in John, I found it to be hard teaching.
Yet in the midst of this hard to imagine/swallow idea of 'cannibalism', I realised that that's what Christ was trying to state. To follow Him requires us to make a strong conscious effort to partake in something which the world considers controversial.
When Jesus spoke of one needing to "eat" and "drink" of Christ, He was clearly stating that He was not after a shallow, mumbo jumbo disciple by name. Talk is cheap, to walk the talk requires conviction and action of surety.
Eating & drinking food and water are everyday affairs that we partake for sustaining our bodies- leading to good health. Eating and drinking of Christ is also a everyday affair to describe how we are to dwell in Christ and Him in us - leading to eternal life. More than physical sustenence, Christ also promises to fuel our life with LIFE.
The greek word for LIFE here is Zao (Zavw) and as a verb, it is translated as "active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God". So Christ was promising that we who willingly commit ourselves as His disciples would benefit from an active, blessed life, endless in the kingdom of God.
What Jesus offers is an attractive proposition of never needing to feel the hunger pangs of the soul's need for endless successes in life, and the parched thirst of the spirit when we wane in stress and afflict ourselves for failing to meet up to life's measures. Especially relevant to us who are so low in the world's hierarchy that all we do is look up at the successful rats of the rat race and we become so consumed with getting better grades, being able to go to a more prestigeous school/company , having more money, more physical securities such as good careers, homes, titles, cars, and lifestyles to enjoy. The reality of what Christ promises as you partake of Him and walk according to His expectations is this - Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
This is why in His encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus stuns her with the similiar attractive promise of never thirsting again. "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. John 4:14". Having gone from man to man to satisfy her sexual, emotional, physical and social needs, she still found an empty void in her life that could not be satisfied. Thus, immediately she responds in eagerness "give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw".
I know its hard to ignore the compelling reasons to succeed in life and everything we are doing now. I'm not encouraging you to drop everything and become a reclusive monk/nun, but to constantly look to Him like Peter did "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
Blessings,
M.
"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." John 6:63
