Never hungry again

We need to drink water and eat food to stay alive. Everyone knows. But Jesus talks about a spiritual need we need to fulfill to come alive.

We need food to survive. If you don’t eat for 40 days you will die. This is common knowledge. It’s a physical law. We know this, we can prove it, so this is our perspective. And therefore, we are busy everyday to get food. We eat 3 times a day and our bodies are used to it.

I have been fasting for a few days. Not eating at all. The first days my body was hungry at the usual diner moments. But after 2 days this was over.

In faith we are always stretched. Jesus is pushing us to our limits. He challenges us to look at things differently.

In  Jesus’ life, he shows us that he sees other options than our logic. His forefathers were in the desert for 40 years. It was not possible to survive for a people group of a few million (!) people. But God did a miracle and he provided manna. Bread from heaven. We cannot understand this with our 21st century mindset. It sounds like a fairytale. For the people of Israel, this was their reality. Of course this was true for them.

And then Jesus stretches them again. The ancestors died at the end. Despite of the manna-miracle, they died after 40 years. Jesus said that we will live forever, when we eat the “bread” that he offers. This means: when we believe in him. Put our trust in him. He talks about eating bread and wine.

Christians who believe in Jesus have holy communion. Eating bread and drinking wine to be reminded of this declaration of Jesus. By eating bread and drinking wine, they are reminded of flesh and blood. It is an act of faith in the church to declare: We believe that Jesus can do more than we expect or can prove. We believe we will have eternal life.

What do you think? Interested in this? Get to know Jesus more. Discover him.