John 6:24-35 "He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (v. 33)

John 6:27   “. . . the food that perishes.” 

The crowds were seeking Jesus because they had witnessed his miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, and they wanted to see more and to eat more. Jesus reproved them because they were seeking him for the wrong reason. So he said, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give to you.” (John 6:27)

Of course, Jesus understood that we need food and drink. He understood very well the importance of friendship and family and work. He valued good health. Many of the miracles of Jesus were healing of the sick; Jesus taught values that would make for good relationships and productive lives. Jesus understood the desire for longevity. He raised the dead. Still, he said, “Do not labor for the food that perishes . . .” Finally, everything perishes; everything in this life slips away from us. We are mortal.

The good news, the gospel, is the message that Jesus has come to bring us eternal life. Indeed, the nature of this gift is such that when we seek God’s gift, God’s kingdom, God’s will, then, all the other things in life are added to us in their proper proportion. When we eat the bread of heaven, that is, when we receive Jesus into our lives we can enjoy the life we have now because we see this life as a hint of the wonders yet to come.

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth to say that “ . . . we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Paradoxically, those of us who are able to think more about heaven are, also, more able to enjoy this mortal life. When we come to Jesus we receive abundant life now. We receive a taste of heaven which makes every good gift in this life a pointer to God’s love, and every sorrow becomes an affliction that will pass with us into a glory beyond all comparison.

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Branch. Recently I was in a meeting with a group of church leaders who were interviewing me as a potential interim pastor. One member of the group is a banker and she inadvertently referred to the church as a branch. She quickly corrected herself and explained that her job took her to a different branch in her bank’s network everyday. Actually, I liked her reference to the church as a branch. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” (John 15:5)  The image became even more poignant for me as we later joined together in worship. The first song we sang was the last song I had sung 7,500 miles away with another church a week earlier. Same song, same faith, just a different branch.