“Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty'” John 6:35

Jesus is concerned about the whole person. He came that we might have life and have it to the full (cf. John 10:10). There are no half measures with Jesus. He is “the way and the truth and the life” John 14:6. He’s concerned about the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of our lives. Show me a religion or a way of life that fulfills these three areas completely and I’ll change my beliefs!

Despite the fact that Jesus is “the bread of life” people continue to feed on junk food. I’m not talking about the natural realm. When folk physically survive on hamburgers, fizzy drinks, pastries, chips, ice cream, candy, cookies, and instant TV dinners, it’s a crying shame, but when they spiritually feed on trashy literature, half-baked sitcoms, fleeting pleasures, the lusts of the flesh, and whatever else they sample from the world’s menu, it’s a tragedy. For we are what we eat.

As a youngster I used to keep silk worms. If I fed them mulberry leaves, they’d spin golden-yellow cocoons. If I fed them red cabbage leaves, they’d spin russet-red cocoons. The colours of the cocoons were directly related to what the silk worms ate.

I could cite other examples. There’s a Brazilian parrot whose colour changes from green to yellow when it eats certain fish. And, if you made me eat black pudding, I’m sure my colour would change from pink to green!

Likewise, in the spiritual realm, we’re gradually changed by what we continually take into our minds and bodies. “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” Romans 8:5.

So watch what you eat. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” 1 Peter 2:2-3.

During the Great Famine of China the people made bread from a kind of edible earth but this ingredient was devoid of any nutrients and those who ate the loaves starved to death. Don’t miss the obvious. In the spiritual realm you can eat all manner of “bread” yet still starve to death. Only Jesus is “the bread of life” John 6:35. He’s the only source of nourishment for a hungry heart, the only bread to satisfy and give fullness of life.