Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

— John 6:35

God had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt, and they soon found themselves in a barren desert without food. But God knew what his people needed before they asked him, and God told Moses that “bread from heaven” would rain down for them (Exodus 16:4). Bread from heaven? Really?

Psalm 78 is even more descriptive: “[God] opened the doors of the heavens; he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. Human beings ate the bread of angels. . . .” (vv. 24-25).

In John 6, Jesus compares himself to this heavenly bread. Jesus too came from heaven to earth. He too came to give life to humanity. He even says, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.”

Our receiving of Christ into our lives is reflected in our reception of the heavenly food he gives us in the Lord’s Supper.

Though we are not “saved” by eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper, eating and drinking the Lord’s Supper helps us grow ever deeper into the abundant Christ-life that God gives us.

Lord Jesus, each day, and especially when you give us your heavenly food, may we receive you and all your good gifts, that we may have full life forever with you. Amen.