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Living in New Orleans , you know food is our love language! We practically focus every gathering, celebration or milestone around what we are eating . I even have a few friends that have specific foods they want served at their funerals!!
I love food. I mean, what’s not to love? There’s the taste, the satisfaction, the variety, the smell (most of the time), and of course, the delight of something sweet and the sensation of something salty. (Blend the two, and I can hardly resist.) Then there’s breakfast food: eggs, bacon, pancakes, coffee. You know it must be a good thing if restaurants serve it all day long. But I don’t think there is anything more delectable than freshly baked bread, do you? Pull a warm roll apart with your fingers, pop in a bite, and it will practically melt in your mouth.
Oftentimes, people often refer to the aroma of fresh-baked bread as “heavenly.” Jesus calls Himself the bread of life in John 6:35, after all. Truly, there is something heavenly about bread. In John 6, after Jesus fed the five thousand with only a boy’s small lunch, the crowd begged to see him do it again. They wanted more bread, and I can’t say I blame them. I have a feeling it tasted delicious. Not to mention, the Jews knew the story of their ancestors living on manna in the wilderness, so if Jesus could provide bread in the same way, then they’d have reason to believe His crazy claims.
But Jesus doesn’t give in to their baiting. He takes the opportunity to point them to something better, and in doing so, He makes a connection between the manna God gave Israel and Himself. Jesus said to the crowd in John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Bible isn’t just a book. It’s nourishment for the starving soul. The Psalmist testifies in Psalm 119, “If your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction” (Psalm 119:92). Then he goes on, “How sweet your word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth” (Psalm 119:103). Coincidently, do you know what else tasted like honey? Manna. Exodus 16:31 tells us it “tasted like wafers made with honey.”
I love that God didn’t give Israel bland food but gave them something sweet to eat. Likewise, Christ’s words are not bland. They are the sweetest, most delectable feast, especially for the anxious, lost, or hurting soul. There is nothing better for us to consume than the living, breathing Word of God. It is a gift from the Lord intended for nourishment, enrichment, joy, and satisfaction while we wait for the return of Christ.
My friend, just as we will suffer from malnutrition if we do not eat nutritious food, so can our souls suffer from malnutrition if we do not consume the Word of God. Trying to live your life without a regular infusion of Jesus is like trying to live your life without food.
There is a feast awaiting you in the delightful words of Scripture. I am soo looking forward to my next round of comfort food as I open my bible along with a side of fresh baked bread!