The Bread of Life Our Bridge of Faith
John 6: 35-40 (NLT)
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
It had been a typical week this past April (2022), and Sharon had just picked me up at the Pittsburgh Airport after a week of working in several cities around the US. We had gotten in the car and headed to Moundsville with dinner plans along the way. She put her hand on mine and said pull over here. There’s something I want to talk to you about.
Pieces of the conversation are still a bit of a blur; however, I do remember Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer has metastasized to the Liver. Eleven (11) months to live. Of course, various emotions and thoughts go through your head when your wife shares this with you.
However, I want to share the faith of the strongest and most intelligent women I know. In Jan, before this, I had been sharing with Sharon that I wanted to desire God in my life every day in the good times as we do in the tough times. I had started studying the word looking for how to create this desire in my heart, and prayer kept coming up as the solution to desiring God.
After Chemo in June, Sharon looked over at me and said,” You know I am going to be healed.” “Yes, I believe that,” was my reply.
She said to me, “I am not sure you understand.” Sharon reminded me that Christ promised us he would not abandon us. If not here, I will be healed in Heaven when I get there. He is my all, my everything, and I will be ok because he has promised that he will not forsake me. So we are not going to worry about the how or when. We will wait on the Lord.”
The Lord’s Supper is described in much greater detail in the other Gospels. John shares that when we accept Christ (the bread), it is sufficient forever as our faith endures. The bread has historically sustained man in life and built bridges between cultures via trade and commerce. With this bread that John describes here, we find the bridge based on our faith that will sustain us forever in Christ, provided by the greatest love we’ve ever known.
Prayer: Lord: Help us desire you in our lives every day. Not only during advent or times of hardship, but each day. We have taken of the bread of life; now, oh Lord, help us seek ways to expand it in our walk with you every day. Amen.
Pieces of the conversation are still a bit of a blur; however, I do remember Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer has metastasized to the Liver. Eleven (11) months to live. Of course, various emotions and thoughts go through your head when your wife shares this with you.
However, I want to share the faith of the strongest and most intelligent women I know. In Jan, before this, I had been sharing with Sharon that I wanted to desire God in my life every day in the good times as we do in the tough times. I had started studying the word looking for how to create this desire in my heart, and prayer kept coming up as the solution to desiring God.
After Chemo in June, Sharon looked over at me and said,” You know I am going to be healed.” “Yes, I believe that,” was my reply.
She said to me, “I am not sure you understand.” Sharon reminded me that Christ promised us he would not abandon us. If not here, I will be healed in Heaven when I get there. He is my all, my everything, and I will be ok because he has promised that he will not forsake me. So we are not going to worry about the how or when. We will wait on the Lord.”
The Lord’s Supper is described in much greater detail in the other Gospels. John shares that when we accept Christ (the bread), it is sufficient forever as our faith endures. The bread has historically sustained man in life and built bridges between cultures via trade and commerce. With this bread that John describes here, we find the bridge based on our faith that will sustain us forever in Christ, provided by the greatest love we’ve ever known.
Prayer: Lord: Help us desire you in our lives every day. Not only during advent or times of hardship, but each day. We have taken of the bread of life; now, oh Lord, help us seek ways to expand it in our walk with you every day. Amen.
Coley Dize, Glen Dale UMC, Glen Dale, WV cdize@outlook.com, Lay Speaker
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