Day 25: From the Father

Read: John 6:41-51 

I grew up in the church. My mother was a Christian and my father was Catholic, so no matter who I was with, I went to church or mass every Sunday. My time was accounted for, but it wasn’t until I was 10 years old when I began the journey of understanding why this Jesus made people so happy without obvious reason.  

Thankfully, based on history, I’m not alone in taking a while to get the point. By verse 41 of today’s passage, Jesus is breaking down why He is the “Bread of Life.” When He called Himself this, the crowd grumbled asking how this could be. This concept struck a chord with them. It didn’t make sense to me either. Jesus was a human being with flesh, blood, bones, muscle tissue. How could He be food?   

Jesus contrasted Himself with the manna sent down from heaven. The forefathers eventually died, even after eating manna, but those who feast on Him will never die. Even after this, the crowd remained confused. What is this bread? What is this eternal life? Moses ate manna in the desert. There seemed to be nothing special about this.  

Jesus, in continuing his public ministry, explained to the crowd that the bread he offers is directly from the Father. God draws us to Himself through the work of Jesus. They found His words hard to accept.  

I can’t tell you what the preacher was preaching when God grabbed my heart at 10 years old. I can’t even tell you what I wore or what I did later that day. What I can tell you though is that it was not by my own logic or understanding that I believed. It wasn’t an emotional response. It was a work of God’s Spirit. In verse 44, Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” Jesus came to reconstruct the way the Jews both viewed and approached their relationship with God. He wanted more for them than to simply be delivered from the Romans. He wanted to save them from themselves. 

What in your life is blocking your view of Jesus and who He truly is? How can you begin to remove those things to gain a better view of Christ?