Break
Thou, The Bread Of Life
Sally was a resident in the assisted living home I managed
for 16 years. She wasn’t a Christian, but she had a curiosity about God, and
she had a few bizarre stories.
She claimed that she had died and was carried by
angels to heaven. Her story had all the familiar parts; the white light, the
image of “Jesus” waiting at the gate as she was approaching, the sense of peace
and overwhelming love, and so on.
But her story had a new twist that I had not heard
before. Sally claimed that God stopped her at the gate and said, “You think
you know me, but you really don’t.”
So, He turned her around and sent her back until she
learned who He is.
OK, so I was (and still am) skeptical about her
experiences. But ever since that alleged event, Sally was on a quest to “know
God.” She spent lots of time in her room reading her Bible. And when she came
out, she often claimed to have some special new insights or strange revelations
from God.
I found myself wanting to refute the inaccurate or
nonsensical ideas that she had formed about God but, because she was attending
all our Sunday services and listening intently to all our sermons, I decided to
hold my tongue. I knew that arguing would not be productive. So, I just
listened politely, smiled, and encouraged her to keep reading the Bible.
I take a great deal of consolation in God’s promise
in Isaiah 55:11, regarding His Word. “So shall My Word be that goes forth from
My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
The Bread of Life is an allegory; it is a picture of
Jesus Christ. We see that in several places in Scripture where the Word of God
is described as bread that is to be eaten for our Spiritual sustenance.
The Hymn, BREAK THOU, THE BREAD OF LIFE, is a
prayer petitioning God to feed us with His Word. It was written by Mary
Lathbury and there is no question about her intended use of this allegory; This
Bread of Life can be found “within the sacred page.”
That’s where we must all start. Do you want to find
God? He is revealed in His Word. Do you want to know Him? Know His Word. Do you
want to hear Him speak? Read it out loud.
The hymn’s last
stanza tells us how God accomplishes His work of salvation in the lives of
sinners and His work of sanctification in the lives of those He has saved. It
is by the ministry of the Spirit of God who opens our eyes and leads us into
all Truth through the pages of His revealed Word.
Sally needed what we all need; the life-giving Bread
from heaven that nourishes us and keeps us spiritually healthy. So, my staff
and I just continued to do for her, what we did for all our residents; We never
answered their questions about God from our own personal experiences, dreams,
or feelings. we fed them with the BREAD OF LIFE which is the Living Word
of God. We preached the Gospel from the Scriptures, and we prayed that God
would reveal Himself to them.
Comments
are welcome. You may contact me at ralphmpetersen@gmail.com
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