JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason to Believe is bread.

Bread is a type of food that sustains our strength. Having human bodies, we need food to live. And Jesus encourages us to pray for our Heavenly Father to give us our daily bread.

In the days of Moses, the Israelites received manna from heaven. It would appear every morning except the Sabbath day. God would provide for their needs in this way, but they were not supposed to take more than they needed.

Bread is a symbol of what we need-no more, no less. Perhaps that is why Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” We need all the spiritual food that Jesus has to offer for the strength to live the Christian life, abundantly and eternally. Anything less would be insufficient. Anything apart from Jesus would be baggage.

Jesus said in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” His grace is the spiritual nutrition that truly satisfies our hunger and thirst for righteousness.

The bread of life is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com