Jesus, the Bread of Life?

John 6:

25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

26Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

30So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

32Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

34"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."

35Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

sad yet profound...

just remembered an excerpt taken from Memoirs of Geisha, by Arthur Golden:

"What an unbearable sorrow it would be, to realize I'd never really tasted the things I'd eaten, or seen the places I'd been, because I'd thought of nothing but the Chairman even while my life was drifting away from me."

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i dunno about you but i cud identify myself with Sayuri (the woman whose story's been told in the book). For Sayuri, Chairman had become the center of everything in her life...every steps that she took was driven by the intention of getting nearer to the Chairman...to a certain extent, i admire her for confessing the statement out loud...it's a bold statement...sad but true...at least, she realized it...

i guess it may not be something uncommon...sometimes, on one extreme, we plan, strategize and take every steps necessary to achieve certain goals in lives...it cud be anything - be it a relationship, success, financial stability, freedom, marriage and the list goes on...On the other extreme, we cud be one passing by each day going through the routine of work and life without knowing for who and for what and why...questioning and searching...the cycle goes on...i think..whether we are on one extreme or on the other, we may find ourselves eating our heart and mind out...

what Sayuri had shared and written by Arthur Golden beautifully depicts something in the little journey i have been walking...while i was driving one day, i felt a sudden joy...i can't fully explain...i took a deep breath and was glad that i cud breathe...sound silly but every breath that i took was like dosage of ecstasy...it was like a sudden realization of joy and appreciation of having life...being able to breathe...i smiled and i thanked God...the next thing i heard in my heart..."whether u walk in gladness and in sorrow in life from now on, u will have life abundantly when you have Me..." the word sorrow may not be a pleasant thing to swallow, but the whole confirmation just comforted my heart...i don't know how but it just did...and it's not surprising that food does tastes better, sleep seems sweeter and laff seems fuller...

no matter what had happened in the past, whether i had walked life or not, it didn't matter...i hope i learn what David had learnt when he said "teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." -psalm 90:12

a post almost forgotten...

someone once told me that at certain points of our lives, God does something significant. i looked through the post that i had written a few years ago. there's one particular post that seems to resonate within my heart now more than the time when it was written. strange but i think i didn't have the full understanding of the whole poem then...

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Sunday, November 14, 2004:

Love Restored (The Lord’s Embrace)
When grief strikes my wounded heart
When darkness clouds my vision
When tears is my sustenance
And words lose their meaning

In a still small voice
You bring me into the desert
Into the dryness of my soul
You pour Your living water
To quench my longing thirst
To wash my broken body
To heal my grievous wounds

You silence the loudness around me
And embrace me in Your arms
So closely, so tenderly
I feel the heartbeat of the One I love
Every beat healing the hurt within

Nothing else appeals to me
You captured my heart once again
You lift my countenance
And breathe in me new life
You said, "I am yours and you are Mine"
Such words, beyond my comprehension

Now I am lovesick
My heart burns within me
Drowning in the River of Fire
Dancing in the River of Love
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The healing started to take place from 2006 onwards...i had this properly refined in 2004. i cudn't remember when was the first draft. Strange...yet amazed...

Thank You... :)