Ravenous hunger. Insatiable thirst. A world grasping headlong and heedlessly for the unsatisfying sustenance it so deceitfully offers to itself.

Starving for the Bread of Life.

A starving world- this is the world to which Jesus came.  Yet people were not hungry for Him.

A waiting world- this is the world to which Jesus came.  Yet people were not watching for Him.

A loved world- this is the world to which Jesus came. Yet people were not aware of their Lover.

A sought world- this is the world to which Jesus came. Yet people were not seeking Him.

What a precious Gift. Yet people didn’t appreciate Him.

And yet again, the irony of the symbolism thrills my heart.

The Bread of Life was placed in a manger

The spiritual food that would keep souls alive in famine…and forevermore…was placed in a feeding trough for animals.

A tiny present of Bread to a starving world.

Oh, how sweet it is to those who believe! The hunger ebbs, and never returns. Hearts are satisfied. Souls no longer rush headlong into the tempting delights of the world.

All they needed was Bread.

The Bread of Life and the Water of the Word.

Even beyond salvation, the Bread of Life still sustains. Every day. Every moment.

Hunger strikes…a ‘need’ for possessions, for friends, for status, for money, for recognition of accomplishment, for the greener grass that seems to be better than reality, for the realization of a dream….the list could go on and on. For at one time or another in our human lives, these tempting ‘delights’ make us think we are hungry.

All we really need is Bread.

It was given long ago in the form of a tiny Babe- in the form of One who many would pass by.  I can almost hear the scoffers in that day….

‘A baby? I need a baby?’

‘I need that baby?’

The enemy of faith invades and self-sufficiency chooses to push aside the Bread and reach for the crumpets.

And the hunger goes on.

I find it interesting, as a pastor’s wife, that some of the first to visit Jesus at the manger were shepherds.

Those who feed and tend others’ hearts.

It was as if He was saying, “Here I am- the Bread of Life. Feed me to the world.”

To those of us in full time ministry- do we take this calling to heart?  Do we always realize the preciousness of the spiritual food, and are we eager and sensitive to the ministry of that Bread to the hearts of our flock?

Friend, have you tasted the Bread of Life for salvation? Have you embraced Him by faith and quenched your hunger and thirst?

“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

Perhaps you are satisfied through salvation, yet the temptations of the world grip your heart.  Don’t believe the lie that those things will sooth your soul. Instead, they make you hungrier still, leaving you with the feeling that you can never get enough.

What you need is right in front of you. Embrace the Bread of Life. For salvation. For always.

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” Psalm 34:8

With Grace,

Leah

Did you miss the first Christmas Vignette? Click here to read more!