“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent. If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11).
All we have to do is ask the Lord to provide for whatever needs we have; but this advice, sadly, touches many deliberately deaf ears in our present day and age. Even with the pressures emanating from unprecedented moments in history, a sizeable multitude spurn the humility associated with turning to their Creator for assistance. They prefer the route in the name of quantum leaps in technology and a so- called era of enlightenment. It is either an insistence that God does not exist or the wanton rejection of His unfailing grace and mercy. They look cynically at the Bread of Life as if it were a cover version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, often in a state of mockery. Little do they know that a game changer in the positive light has been overlooked by many miles!
As our Lord Jesus said so in John 6:58: “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Sadly speaking, there are certain elements in the scientific community who relentlessly pursue the elusive prospect of longevity if not the possibility that death could be permanently eradicated. Makes no big difference even if the eradication did not allow for an enhanced quality of life. Look at the quality of life in the wake of the unprecedented pandemic – nothing brings reason for popping champagne bottles while everybody is talking about the ‘new normal’ which is unravelling somewhat sinisterly. While the finer details of this ghastly dawn need no further mention, it is obvious that it is reeking of nothing but a poor taste. It does not come near to freshly baked sourdough bread; the sneak preview is more like pebbles, and the real stuff might be likened to the ballast on railroad tracks!
Maybe you could live forever but you cannot be ‘Forever Young’ as sung by Alphaville. Simply because the Bread of Life is absent in the midst of a stony set-up. Perhaps some might not choose to live when the serpents have unrestricted movement. This is when there is nothing to live for and people then choose to end their lives along with that of their loved ones.
Our loving Father in heaven never meant us to settle for stones and serpents. God keeps His Word from beginning to end. The stones and serpents are a consequence of blatant unbelief. However, we who fervently believe with all our heart that the WORD of Life never lies will partake of bread and fish for sure. But that’s not all; hunger and thirst will never bother us ever again.
Fear not when the days in this fallen planet grow increasingly dim, because we are about to enter a bright domain that is never-ending. In the middle of last year, it was like hearing the whistle from a distance. On New Year’s Day, it was like the roar of the engines plus the clickety clack. Perhaps, at this moment, we can make out the flashing lights amidst the clanging!
Maranatha
Edwin