Jesus Is Life

Though we are alive, separation from God means that we are dead and lost. We are in need of life. We can only receive this life through Jesus Christ, who is life and gives life.

In the text for today, Jesus tells the crowd that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood will have life. Some in the crowd say that Jesus’ teaching is hard. He claims that he is the true bread that comes from heaven. He tells them this is not like the bread that their ancestors ate and died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.

At the beginning of John 6, the crowd followed Jesus. He multiplied bread and fish and gave it to them to eat. The next day they went to look for Jesus again. He told them that they were not looking for him because they understood his miracles but because he had given them bread to eat. Jesus told them to work for the food that lasts for eternal life. And they asked Jesus to give them this bread always. But he tells them that he is the Bread of Life.

We must seek Jesus daily so that he can live in us and we in him. If we follow Jesus hoping to gain material possessions, we miss the mark. When we eat Jesus’ flesh and blood, we enter into an intimate relationship with him. This intimate relationship means allowing Jesus to direct our lives. Seeking Jesus daily means feeding on the word of the One who provides light for our journeys, the One who gives us strength through the trials and temptations we face. In John 10:10 Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” We all need life in abundance!