bringin home the bread.

John 6:27
"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life. . ."


I have been studying John 6 for the past month. I've been focusing my attention on Jesus being the bread of life. As i read it Im thinking about what it means to labor for the food of eternal life.

labor:
a. Physical or mental exertion, especially when difficult or exhausting; work.

Laboring isn't necessarily fun. God wants us to exert ourselves to go a little further. It requires effort to go deep in the word. I believe God gives alot of grace and wants us to seek him out. Good news is He promises that when we seek Him, we find Him.
What is the food of eternal life?
I think Jesus is talking about himself. His flesh is true food and his blood is true drink(v. 55) He is the word made flesh(Jn 1:14)and the bread of life(Jn 6:35) He says whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him(v.56) and will live forever(v.58)

The bible is full of mysteries and I love it, but sometimes i really don't get it. I am encouraged though, because I'm find that when i put even just a little extra effort towards understanding the bible or a little extra effort in prayer God really meets me in that place. Im beginning to grasp that the Word IS God. As im laboring to know the word I'm actually laboring to know the Lord himself. What I'm learning from John 6:27 is that God wants our diligence in pursuing Him. I love the promises of Psalm 1. It says that the man whose delight is in the law (word) of the Lord and he who meditates on it day and night is like a fruitful tree and in all that he does he prospers.

my prayer is that God would teach me to eat the bread of life, that I would delight in the word and He would fill me with truth. God, give me endurance that I can labor to do your will with diligence that I might not quit pursuing the deep things inside your heart.