Freshly baked bread! The warm whiff immediately caused my mouth to water. Desire came over me like a wave. Stronger than craving, it seemed closer to lust. I paused at the doorway, unsure of whether I could actually enter the café, the aroma was so overpowering. The heavy smell was tempting, drawing me in. I wasn’t sure how I was going to resist, it seemed a lifetime since I’d tasted.
When my friend suggested eating at a certain café specializing in gourmet breads, I hesitated only a moment before I agreed. I hate to remind people that I have Celiac disease and am unable to eat wheat products. I can usually find a safe salad anywhere. But I was not prepared for my reaction. I was not prepared for this old familiar longing.
While gulping in the delicious smell as though I could eat it, my gracious Lord gave me a gentle rebuke with His question, “Why is your craving so strong for the bread that perishes?”
John 6 flooded my mind and immediately brought a rush of conviction. What had I been doing? I was almost overcome with lust for mere food! The sheer irony of it. How many times had God revealed this old idol of my heart? And unexpectedly, I once again found the old lusts still lurking there.
I am the Bread of Life His gentle whisper to my heart, Feed on Me.
I lowered my head to look away from the glass encased loaves. Why was my craving for the “bread that perishes” strong enough to cause pain? Do I crave Him that strongly? Does He hold that much power over my senses?
I bowed my head to silently plead with Him. “Forgive me, Father. Please, Lord Jesus, every time I crave bread, let my craving be turned to You instead. Use this denial of physical bread to deepen my hunger for You, the Living, Eternal Bread of Life. You are my Bread.”
So, as I ordered my salad, I fed on these truths found in John 6:
Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, always give us this bread.
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.
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