The Smell of Bread
About a year ago, I experimented with making gluten-free sourdough bread. As I was thinking about Lent today and how Jesus completely satisfies our souls, I was reminded of that first morning waiting for the sourdough bread to finish baking. Here’s that story …
I wiped the flour from my hands and glanced at the recipe again. I had always loved to bake bread before I had to give up gluten, but today was my first attempt at baking gluten-free sourdough bread. The kitchen smelled warm and inviting as the dough baked in the oven.
As I waited, I thought back to the devotional thought I had read this morning and the verse, John 6:35:
“I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger.”
The Spirit pressed on hidden thoughts – ways I had tried to satisfy my need for approval, success, or busyness. But at that moment, I was reminded that nothing had ever lasted. It was like eating a meal that left me hungry again.
The oven timer beeped. I carefully pulled out the golden loaf, its crust crisp and fragrant. Breaking it open, I felt a quiet satisfaction. But as I took my first bite, another thought stirred in my heart.
You know how God is so good at using our everyday actions and events to remind us of important lessons?
Just as bread nourishes my body, Jesus alone is the One who satisfies my soul forever. I closed my eyes to whisper a prayer of gratitude.
A Story Written in Bread
The theme of bread runs through the whole Bible. In Genesis 3:19, after the fall, God told Adam, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” Bread became a symbol of toil and survival, a reminder that sin had broken the world.
But God, in His grace, provided bread to His people. When Israel wandered in the wilderness, He sent Manna from Heaven (Exodus 16:4), a daily provision that sustained them. Yet, Jesus reminds us in John 6:49-50 that those who ate the Manna still died. That bread was a shadow, pointing to the true bread that gives eternal life.
In the New Testament, Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes (John 6:1-14), showing His power to provide. But He directs the crowd beyond physical bread to Himself—the true and better Manna. He fulfills the Showbread in the Tabernacle (Leviticus 24:5-9), the Bread of Presence that signified God’s sustaining nearness.
At the Last Supper, Jesus takes bread, breaks it, and says, “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). His body, broken on the cross, is the bread that gives eternal life to those who believe. Through His death and resurrection, He offers daily sustenance and eternal satisfaction.
Feeding on Christ
To partake of this Bread of Life is to trust in Him wholly. It is not enough to admire or acknowledge Christ intellectually; we must spiritually feast on Him by faith. Joshua Owens writes:
“Eating is a fitting way of describing saving faith because what is eaten gets inside to nourish life and strengthen health. Yet, unlike food for the body, the life of Christ in the believer is not burned up and exhausted by the exercises of love. His eternal life sustains a Godward life forever.”
Jesus nourishes us not merely by His example but through His atoning work. He is our life, our sustenance, our satisfaction.
Similarly, Tim Keller exhorts:
“When Jesus says I am the bread of life, he says, I am God made breakable for you.”
One of the comments on Keller’s quote was this note, ” Bread is shared. It is “taken, blessed, broken, and given.”
Just as we must eat to live, we must believe to have eternal life. Christ alone is the bread that satisfies. Every earthly meal leaves us hungry again, but whoever comes to Him “shall never hunger” (John 6:35).
A Call to the Hungry
Are you spiritually hungry? Do you find yourself seeking satisfaction in things that do not last? Christ invites you to His table. He is the bread that never perishes, the Manna that gives eternal life. Come, take, and eat—feast on Him by faith, and let Jesus fully satisfy you.
Prayer
God, You who alone satisfies the hunger of our souls,
You who moves us to do Your will —
Move us to hunger for the True Bread –
That Bread that came down from Heaven –
May we feed on Him by faith and
May we be strengthened for every good work!
Nourish us for Your glory and our good. Amen.
References
How is Jesus the bread of life? (n.d.). Ligonier Ministries. https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/how-is-jesus-the-bread-of-life
Keller, T. (2022, January 21). When Jesus says I am the bread of life, he says, I am God made breakable for you. Facebook. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1833n9yaR3/
