The Bread of Life

I made some lovely French bread today. I'm not great in the kitchen, but breads are my friends. It's probably because it's my favorite thing to eat that I learned to make it. Three sentences in and I'm already way off subject.

I once spent a significant amount of time studying the references to hunger, thirst, bread, food, and water in the scriptures. The symbolism related to what we need to maintain temporal life and what we need to attain eternal life are incredible. I'm having a lot of trouble summarizing this topic and making sense of it. I'm going to share some scriptures and try to tie them all together.

Like so many others, I marvel at the miracles of Jesus. One of my favorites is when he fed 5000 people with five loaves and two fishes (John 6). I love this story for many reasons, but one is because Christ recognizes the physical needs of his followers. Sometimes our physical needs for food or sleep make us feel weak. I get really hungry and it bugs me. I also get really tired when I have important things to do. But it shouldn't bother me. The Lord knows that our temporal needs are important and He helps us in all things.

The day after this great miracle, the people sought Christ again.

"Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled" (John 6:26).

This part of the story always makes me a little sad. The people had seen the miracles, but instead of developing more faith in the Savior, they just wanted more food. Christ responds by teaching them eternal truths about His mission:

"And 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).

The people bring up the manna that was given to the Israelites in the wilderness. This was a great miracle they attributed to Moses. Christ gently corrects them by explaining that it wasn't Moses who sent the manna, but their Father in Heaven. And then comes the great learning experience:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

"I am that bread of life. "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my which I will for the life of the world" (John 6:47-51).

The miracle of manna, or the miracle of feeding the 5000, is temporal. Those who eat bread will get hungry again. The true miracle is the Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In performing these acts for us, He gave us the opportunity to partake of the bread of life and never hunger again. We can live forever because He gave His life for us. Sometimes we hope for temporal blessings (which the Lord does give, in His own way) as evidence of His love for us. When I do this, I'm like the people in this story who seek food instead of seeking to be fed the word of God at the Savior's feet. Our quest, my quest, should always be to seek righteousness.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ said, "And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost" (3 Nephi 12:6).