Study 8 - 2007: April 30th to May 6th 2007

“Jesus said; I am the bread of life, he who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never be thirsty” John Chapter 6:verse 35 (Good News Bible).

In golf al all levels you see a great hunger and thirst for success. Our nerves, anger, disappointments and celebrations are all signs of the value we attach to being successful at golf. Most of us have to settle for 2nd best though as we fail to realise our hopes and dreams from the game. Unfortunately in winning in sport there is no room at the top for more than one person. Most of us find satisfaction from doing the best we can.

When it comes to life with God though, the good news is that we can all be winners, because life is a gift to be received rather than earned. Many people make the mistake of thinking that with life with God has to be earned. The truth is we have all failed; we are called sinners in the bible that means we have fallen short of the standards that God has set for us in life. These standards are found in the 10 commandments or can be found deep within our conscience of what we know to be right and wrong.

If it was up to us, we would have no hope, but Jesus gives us another possibility. He comes into the world and says;
“I am the bread of life, he who comes to me will never be hungry, he who believes in me will never be thirsty”. Jesus is talking about more than food here. He is talking about more than finding success in life. Jesus is talking about life itself, that he alone is the giver and source of life and that he gives this to all who come to him and believe in him.

As Australians we all celebrated with the Australian cricket team in their success at the recent world cup. We feel at one with them by virtue of being Australians. A Christian is a person whose identity is with Jesus, someone who is one with him.

We all need to food and water to live. Without it our bodies will go weak and eventually die. When Jesus said that he is the bread of life, he means that without putting our trust in him and coming him we will not have life.

This leads us to who we trust in for our life. For many they are content to live life and make the most of what they have now. What makes Jesus different is that he promises to give eternal life to all believe in him by virtue of his own death and rising from the dead.
I encourage you to look at life not just from what we have now, but life on the other side of the grave, or as Jesus says in John Chapter 6 verse 27 to “work for the food that lasts for eternal life”.

Prayer
Loving God, we have a hunger and thirst in our souls that is hard to satisfy. We are restless. Life is there to be grasped but it eludes us. Thank you that Jesus offers us an opportunity to find life that does last. Help us to come to him today for life. Amen.