Jesus cares: “I am the bread of life.”
Then Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd… he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” Then Jesus declared,
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:5, 35)
John’s gospel is best place to find clear indicators that Jesus cares: his conversations were comforting; and his care fed people – at the Cana wedding, the 5000 at the beach in Galilee, and He gave living water to a Samaritan woman and her relatives. His food and counsel bring peace to every thirsty soul that reaches out to receive from Him. The need for satisfaction and peace is real - at levels personal, institutional, national, regional and international. How many people are fighting within over food, unfulfilled goals, career and business choices, disappointments at work or in relationships…? Although he or she may look good on the outside, someone is inwardly fighting an abusive or deficient upbringing, inherited spiritual bondages, close people stealing property, or uncertainties about the future. And these very conflicts are the seeds that grow into costly armed wars we have seen at home, in South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, North Korea – all over the world.
The needs of the world and even up close to the needs of an individual can well be expressed as hunger or thirst; for needs physical, emotional, occupational, and spiritual – satisfaction keeps eluding us! Having known that the people that took the Cana wine would need more tomorrow, and those five thousand that ate physical food would ask for more, Jesus brought a new twist to his catering vocation. He first introduced at the well in Sychar with the Samaritan woman, when he claimed to have water better than that in Jacob’s well; he would offer living water that quenches thirst forever. Now he says, ‘I am the bread of life’! His final serving was the last supper where he further amplified the statement and made it clear that whoever comes to Him will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Him will have his thirst quenched for good. These are demonstrations that Jesus cares.
Where do you turn for satisfaction and peace? As we pray for peace in the world, let us recognize that it begins within one individual; let us therefore seek to receive from the Prince of Peace what we need to be restfully content – ‘cast your cares upon the Lord’. And let us be agents of this peace; encouraging someone and helping just one person overcome the battles within could arrest a looming strike or rebellion. In their fellowship, Jesus Christ fed them physically, and after rising from the dead, spoke Peace to them twice before He commissioned the disciples. He knows the depth of our needs and will not rush away; He alone satisfies. Be sure He is attentive to you; He cares for you.
Peace be with you!