CONSUMING THE BREAD

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If a man eats of this bread, he will live forever." John 6: 51

            I consider some of the things I have consumed in my lifetime; things that arrested my heart and dominating my thinking. As a teenager, I lived and breathed the music of the Carpenters.  Studying every aspect of their music, I "ate" of them to the point that I could mimic everything they did.  I sang along with Karen and had every bend of her voice down pat.  Their music became a part of me; so much so that when I recorded my first few albums, I heard, "You are the Christian version of Karen Carpenter."  That should have been no surprise to me, for they had been my daily food. To eat of anyone or anything, there has to be appetite.  

            "I'm just not very hungry to read the Scriptures", you might say.  "If that's the key to being full of the Spirit, I'm sunk."   Every person is born physically hungry, but it can be dulled by lack of eating. I have heard that extremely malnourished people lose their appetite completely. You have to coerce them, even force feed them, to get them to eat again. Only as they start eating does normal appetite resume.

            The same is true of spiritual food.  We have to force feed ourselves to re-awaken our hunger.  Over time, we discover that we are ravenous.  Our preoccupation with Jesus arrests us to the point that our thinking,feelings, and behaviors change.   Just as food is consumed, digested, and applied to every living cell inside, so is the life of God applied.  He becomes part of us, on a cellular, spiritual level.

Jesus, grace me with the discipline to spend time with You everyday.  Awaken my hunger.  May I consume You and be forever changed.  Amen