Really Good Bread!

Growing up in the NYC metro area, and with a dad who was Greek, we knew what it was like to have really good bread in our home. In fact, bread was the centerpiece of just about every family meal. And not just any old bread.  For dinner it would be a loaf of Italian bread of some sort that was crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and filled with flavor. Or it might have been a hearty hearth-baked bread. Sometimes we might even have had a good Challah bread from the Jewish bakery. And for sandwiches, it was never “Wonder Bread” or some sort of soft mushy white bread. Rather, most often it was a really good Kaiser roll, challah roll, or whole grain bread. In fact, rather than just pick up bread in the supermarket, my dad would often go out of his way to a deli or bakery to make sure we had the right bread. I’m kind of the same way. If I’m going to eat bread, I want it to be really good bread.  

So, when I read Jesus’ words in John 6, “I am the bread of life.”  (vs. 35), I have a certain picture in mind. I can’t picture Jesus as a bag of mushy white bread. I don’t picture Jesus as your average loaf that you grab off of the supermarket shelf. After all most of those breads are not healthy, sustaining, nor very tasty. None of them would be found as the centerpiece of our family dinner. 

I picture Jesus the “bread of life” as the centerpiece on my dinner table. He is that bread for which I’ve put forth effort to find and bring home—that specialty bread for which everyone craves. He’s not just your ordinary middle-America bread (sorry to all my middle-America friends!).  Jesus is the best of breads. He’s that bread that is healthy, sustaining, and so delicious that we’ll fight over who gets the last piece! 

If you think about it, Jesus was never and will never be just ordinary and run-of-the-mill. He was never meant to be just one among many. Rather, he has always and will always stand out from the rest as the very best—especially when it comes to meeting our needs as sinful people who are in desperate need of mercy, grace, and forgiveness. There is no one who can save us, redeem us, and do for us what Jesus is able to do for us. No one loves us as Jesus loves us. And no one can bring life to our souls as he can. For sure, as the “bread of life!”  

So what ought we do? How do we experience his work within our lives? Jesus goes on to say, “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (vs 35)  Later in John 6, he even invites us to “eat” of him.  That is, we come to him, put our faith in him, take him deep into our lives—as if we are eating bread; ingesting it, not just tasting it. As we do, he will begin to do his work within our lives. His life will become our life. 

Have you experienced Jesus as the “bread of life?” He is really good bread. Let me rephrase that: Jesus is the best of breads!

Have a great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris