Bread of Life

As a lover of bread, I laughed to myself when I read the collect for this week. I love when Jesus takes the things I love and shows me time and time again that He is better.
Lately, the Lord has gently been showing me how often I reach for bread without realizing it. It has become a mindless habit of mine to reach for bread, not out of necessity, but often out of boredom.

This subconscious reaching for bread has become more apparent as the Lord has asked me to lay down bread for Lent this year. This has made me keenly aware of every time that I, without thinking, reach for bread, only to stop halfway and remind myself that I don’t need it.

This reminds me of Matthew 4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Every time I am tempted to reach for bread, I am reminded instead to reach for the Lord through His Word and through prayer.
 
That’s why I love the reminder we get in this week’s collect. Bread satisfies our physical bodies temporarily, but before long, we want another piece of bread, another snack, another carb, another drink, another you fill in the blank. Yet Jesus, our True Bread, fills us permanently. He quenches every desire and fulfills every longing of our searching and seeking hearts.

Instead of looking to bread or anything else for temporary fulfillment, may we instead look to Christ for permanent satisfaction.

May I reach for the Lord, the way I am tempted to reach for bread. May I reach for the Bible instead of a biscuit. May I cling to the Cross instead of croissants. May I focus on the One who rose instead of on dinner rolls. May I run to the Gospel instead of gluten. May I seek the Lamb instead of leaven.

May the Lord develop in us a natural desire for Him, reaching for Him without a second thought. May He be the One we naturally run to in our boredom and in our loneliness, in our hunger and in our pain. May He be the One we run to for fulfillment and comfort. May He be the One we run to in joy and in sorrow. May He be the One we run to more than anything else.

And when we find ourselves running back to lesser things, may we remember that He is not passively waiting on us to come. He took action and came to us, to be our True Bread. To fill us and satisfy us completely, not just with good things, but with the Best Thing– Himself.
He is better than bread, and He is better than anything else we are tempted to run to. He is better than life itself. May we learn to feast on Him and savor our Savior.

“Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” Psalm 63:3