John 15:7
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
The Words of Life
When Jesus just finished saying some hard to understand words (John 6:60), many of His disciples stopped following Him (John 6:66). But then Jesus turned to Peter and asked him if he too would stop following Him, and Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Since we know that Jesus is the Word of God and the Word is Jesus (John 1:1, 14), what is more vital to the believer than taking in the Word of God on a daily basis? If we abide in God’s Word, His Word will abide in us. What is better for us than that? The words of life are those words spoken by Jesus, and in them we can find eternal life because they point to Jesus. It’s not as much the plan of salvation but the Man of salvation, and that is Christ.
The Bread of Life
In what is called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told the disciples how they were to pray, and part of that prayer was to ask for their “daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). Even though this likely meant praying for literal bread, for the day it could easily have dual application to the bread of life because elsewhere in Scripture Jesus identifies the bread that came down from heaven as Himself (John 6:33). This is the bread that gives eternal life. The bread given in the wilderness was only temporary, but the bread of life is from Jesus Himself and is the way to eternal life; this is the “true bread of life” (John 6:32). Whoever expects to eat one meal a week on a Sunday, perhaps taking in the Word during the sermon, and not starve to death? We need that daily bread on a daily basis.
Blessed Are the Hungry
In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 6:6). That righteousness is found only in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), and we can know the Savior by the Word of God. David earnestly sought after God (Psalm 63:1). Like a deer panting after water, David panted after God Himself (Psalm 42:1), and that living water only comes from Jesus Christ. It is a wellspring of eternal life (John 4:14). So I ask again, what is more important in our lives than the daily intake of the Word of God? Can you name it? I cannot.
A Closing Prayer
Father, I thank You for Your Words of life found only in Your Holy Word, the Bible. I know many in this world don’t have such easy access to the Bible as many of us do, and I thank You for Your Word and the eternal life it speaks about in the Person of Jesus Christ, in Whose Mighty Name I pray.
Amen
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