John 6:34-40

John 6:34-40

Therefore they said to Him, “Lord, give to us this bread at all times.”  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life.  The one who comes to me should never hunger, and the one who believes in me should never be thirsty at all times.  But I said to you all that you all have also seen and you all do not believe.  All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I should never cast out because I have come down from heaven not in order to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.  And this is the will of the one who sent me: in order that I should not lose all that He has given to me out of Him but I will raise it up in the last day.  For this is the will of my Father: in order that all who observe the Son and who believe in Him should have life eternal; and I will raise him up in the last day.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus calls Himself the bread of life.  Bread is sustenance.  Jesus is saying that He is the sustenance of life.  He is the meaning of life.  Without Him, life has no sustenance.  With Him, you never go hungry or thirsty again.

Where do you get your sustenance?  How does Christ sustain you?

Second Thought:

Jesus makes a promise that those who come to Him will never be cast out.  If we find our way into Him, we will never find our way away.  It is a promise that what He holds onto cannot be wrestled out of His hand.  But you notice the two-fold nature of this passage?  First: All that the Father gives to Jesus.  Jesus has opened the door of salvation to all people.  Second: we must come to Him.  Jesus died for all, but not all will come to Him.  Salvation can be for all, but not all will be saved.  God opens His arms to embrace us, but we embrace Him in return.

Have you embraced God’s love?  What does that feel like?  What does it mean to live a life that is fully in God’s hands?

Third Thought:

Notice that Jesus repeats Himself in this passage.  The last two verses are essentially the same concept.  The will of the Father is that through the Son those who believe will be raised on the last day.  Notice what Jesus says.  Not in the last days, on the last day.  In other words, He means at the end of this age.  God’s will is that when this age is over and people have been able to choose to either follow Him or follow the desires of their own heart then He will raise those who observe the Son and who believe in Him.  That is the will of the Father.  That is the ultimate point of Christ.  We are separated from God by our nature.  Christ came so that we might be restored in relationship with Him and be raised into that new life.

Have you seen the Christ?  Have you believed in Him?  Do you believe that the will of the Father is yours as well?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 6:41-47