Living in the Light

CHAPTER 1

Who Is Jesus?

The Bread of Life

Jesus said unto them, “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35 KJV)

The aroma of baking bread in our home is heavenly when my husband uses his special sourdough recipe. A slice of his bread might even be described as divinely delicious. Whether the setting is our kitchen or a hillside in ancient Galilee, bread meets a basic need of hungry people.

In his Gospel account, John relates that Jesus miraculously fed bread and fish to thousands of people. Taking a few available fish and barley loaves, Jesus blessed the food; then his disciples shared it with five thousand men, plus women and children.

The masses may have followed Jesus because he taught with authority or he supernaturally healed them. However, many folks may have followed with the hope of more free bread! This bread probably reminded them of times in centuries past when God “opened the doors of heaven” and “rained down manna on them—the bread of heaven” (Psalm 78:23–24 NKJV).

But Jesus’s greatest concern was to provide spiritual bread. In the scriptures, bread often is a symbol for God’s truth that sustains and satisfies hungering souls. In John 6:51, Jesus clearly states for his followers, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”

In this verse, Jesus is inviting people to do more than eat bread. He is encouraging them to receive him by faith as the Holy One of God, the Messiah. He is urging them to receive and believe with settled conviction that he is the divine substance and sustenance of life. He desires that all hungering souls—then and now—accept his assurance, “I am the living bread.”

Seeking the Light

Father God, I praise you for Jesus, who sustains, satisfies, and saves my soul. With joyful need, my heart sings the familiar hymn words, “Bread of Heaven, Feed me till I want no more.”¹ Thank you for your abundant nourishment for everyone who receives Jesus as the eternal bread of life.

Journaling Your Journey of Living in the Light

Have you made the decision to receive Jesus as the spiritual bread of life that sustains, satisfies, and saves your soul for eternity with him? Turn back a few pages and review the section in the preface, “Accepting Jesus as Your Savior.” If you have not already done so, will you make the decision to turn from sin’s temptations and trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord?

Record in a simple notebook or journal (use as you read this book) whether you are saved, unsaved, or uncertain. Jot down names of folks with whom you can discuss and share God’s light of salvation and hope.

The Light of the World

Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

When springtime arrives, it slowly begins uncurling and unfurling itself. And with the blossoms and blooms of spring, we also welcome the warmer weather. Most significantly, however, we happily embrace the longer days and the glorious light. Have you yearned, as I have, for the warm breezes and the sunny skies?

Of course, light also seems to illuminate life’s possibilities, and in our popular culture, we are reminded of the song words “you light up my life” and the old saying “light at the end of the tunnel.” Light is good!

More importantly, however, is the spiritual meaning of light in Jesus’s promise that we will have the light of life because he is the source. Jesus tells us in the key verse that he is the light of the world. Earlier in John (1:4), we read that “in him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Continuing in verse 5, the apostle John declares, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

For us today and for early Christians living in the city of Corinth, Greece, the apostle Paul further assured, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

As Christ followers, we are urged to be children of light as we live, love, touch, teach, serve, and sacrifice to benefit others in our world. In 1 John 1:7 (NKJV), we read that if we live in the light, “we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This is the eternal light for all yearning souls!

Seeking the Light

Dear God, help us fully live in the light of Jesus as your Holy Spirit empowers us to express kindness to those who struggle. May we interact lovingly with those who need your redemptive light to overcome the enveloping shadows of sin’s darkness in our world.

Journaling Your Journey of Living in the Light

List in your journaling space some of the enveloping shadows of sin that darken your life. How can Jesus’s love and salvation light up your life? Illuminate our world? Overcome darkness? To express your artistic and visual imagination, draw a representation of the light of God in your life and ways you might share that light with other folks. What family members or friends do you know who may be yearning for the light of Christ in their life?