Title: Eternal Food/John 6:32-36
Content: Navigation towards eternity (15) Eternal food / John 6:32-36, 55-56
When we think of Teresa, the first thing that comes to mind is Mother Teresa, a Nobel laureate who served in India. However, among those who lived in the 1500s, there was a man named Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). She was a female leader dedicated to monastic reform in Spain shortly after Martin Luther's Reformation. She stayed within the Catholic Church and devoted herself to the reform ministry, believing that the only hope of the world was the reformation of the monasteries. Originally from a Spanish noble family, she abandoned everything and entered the Carmelite Monastery in Avila, where she devoted her life to the capital. Despite experiencing many persecutions and hardships, and even being misunderstood by church leaders, she never lost her smile and never stopped doing three things: praying, writing poetry, and singing praises. It is said that when she died, all she had left was a poem in three short paragraphs. I would like to introduce you to that poem.
“Do not be shaken by anything/Do not worry about anything/All things pass by (2)God does not change/With perseverance/He will do all things (3)He who has God/Nothing lacks/With God alone Satisfied (Solo Dios basta)" Since then, this confession has been the supreme longing for Christian religious. “I am satisfied with God alone.” But can we really be satisfied with God alone today? Doesn't Jesus make such a declaration in today's text? Verse 35. “Jesus said, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” What can we do to confess that God is the satisfaction of our life?
1. We must discover Him who is eternal food.
Guys, where was the place where Jesus was born? Bethlehem - That's right. Do you know what Bethlehem means? It means “house of bread”. Jesus, the Bread of Life, came to the house of bread. Isn't it God's wit and God's humor! Now, the important thing is to realize that this is the historical Jesus Christ who came to Bethlehem He is our true and everlasting food. You must discover it.
2. We must trust Him who is our eternal food.
No one is unaware of the events of Christmas. But too few people experience the blessings of Christmas. Why? It is because people do not come to Jesus, the Lord of Christmas, and do not believe in him. Read verse 35 again. “Jesus said, I am the bread of life; he who comes to me”, to whom was it promised not to hunger or thirst? “The one who comes to me” is the one who comes to Jesus Christ. Also read verse 36. “But I say to you, ye have seen me and do not believe.” The problem is that people do not come to Christ. Some people realize that Jesus is the only solution and answer, and they pay attention, but they do not reach the point of believing in Him. How tragic is this? There is a road, but we cannot walk on it, and we have an answer, but we do not enjoy the blessing of that answer.
3. We must be united with Him who is our eternal bread.
We have said through the text that the true and true satisfaction of life consists in discovering and trusting in Jesus, who is the eternal bread. However, some may ask, why am I still not satisfied with my life even though I believe in Him and come to Him and live a life of faith? I will give you the answer of Teresa of Avila. We need to check to see if there is anything wrong with the water pipe between him and us. If the pipeline of the water supply is clogged, no matter how much water is supplied from the source, we can choke. Wouldn't it be satisfying to eat and drink to be satisfied? The prayer of repentance, the prayer of penance is to clean this pipeline. Again, if there is no blockage between him and us, the water of life will flow in. Our thirst will be quenched and our hunger will be turned into a feeling of satiety.
The decision of conversion is momentary, but the decision of faith is by no means a one-time thing. We came before the Lord when we believed in Jesus, but we need to keep coming to Him today. The expression ‘one who comes to me’ here is ‘one who keeps coming’ (present participle). Those who continue to come forward and enjoy His food will experience in an instant that that food has become themselves. As we eat his bread and drink his living water, we will experience that we are a part of that very bread and that we are a part of that very living water. From time immemorial, our senior spiritualists have called such an experience union or unity with God. Doesn't the words of John 6:56 indicate such a condition? “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” That is why our ancestors set the most important goal of their religious life or prayer life to be complete union with God.
Teresa of Avila says that when this union deepens to a certain extent, with the help of the Lord's grace, we escape the dark night of the soul. And at one such moment, we confess, we experience a sudden shower of the Holy Spirit, or a sovereign outpouring of grace. She writes that at one time she was compelled to cry out in the depths of this prayer. “Lord, you don’t have to give me any more. You don't have to give anything. has been Now, I am content with the Lord alone.” Aren't you longing for this kind of grace? Aren't you waiting for this outpouring of grace? Come to Christ, our true and eternal food, for true satisfaction in an age filled with all kinds of dissatisfaction. Get to know him deeply. There are many things to do in the seasons of Christmas and New Years, but above all else, plan your new year with a deep longing for meeting with the Lord. Only the Lord of Christmas is our eternal food. Only the Lord of Christmas is our eternal satisfaction. Solo Dios basta! Merry Christmas!