Finding True Satisfaction in the Bread of Life
Summary
### Summary
In today's reflection on John 6, we delve into the profound teachings of Jesus in the Bread of Life Discourse. This chapter is pivotal as it addresses the universal human quest for satisfaction and the ultimate source of that satisfaction. The people in Jesus' time were searching for Him because they were physically hungry, having been fed by Him previously. Jesus uses this physical hunger to illustrate a deeper spiritual hunger that resides in every human soul. He emphasizes that while we often seek to satisfy this hunger with perishable things, true and lasting satisfaction can only be found in Him.
We explored various examples of how people seek contentment in transient things—whether it's career success, relationships, or material possessions. These things, while good, cannot fulfill our deepest longings. They are perishable and will ultimately disappoint us if we rely on them as our primary source of satisfaction. This is a common human experience, as illustrated by cultural references like Mick Jagger's "I can't get no satisfaction" and U2's "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
The key to ultimate satisfaction lies in correctly ordering our loves, as St. Augustine suggests, with God as our ultimate love. Jesus invites us to seek the "food that endures for eternal life," which He offers as the Bread of Life. He doesn't just give us bread; He is the Bread of Life. This means that our relationship with God is not an abstract concept but a tangible reality where God Himself becomes our sustenance.
Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, where His body was broken and His blood shed, is the ultimate act of love that redeems us and offers us eternal life. When we truly experience the sweetness of God, even the good things in our lives become sweeter. This week, let us pause to notice our deeper hunger and turn to Jesus, the Bread of Life, to satisfy our souls.
### Key Takeaways
1. The Universal Quest for Satisfaction: Every human soul experiences a deep hunger for contentment and fulfillment. We often seek to satisfy this hunger with perishable things like career success, relationships, or material possessions, but these will ultimately disappoint us. True satisfaction can only be found in Jesus, the Bread of Life. [01:25]
2. The Imperishable Bliss: Even in moments of contentment, there is a lingering desire for something more, something imperishable. This longing points to our need for a deeper, eternal satisfaction that only God can provide. Recognizing this can help us reorient our lives towards seeking God as our ultimate source of fulfillment. [04:42]
3. The Proper Ordering of Loves: St. Augustine teaches that our loves must be properly ordered, with God as our ultimate love. When we place our primary satisfaction in transient things, it leads to dysfunction and disappointment. By making God our ultimate love, we can enjoy other good things in their proper context. [07:52]
4. Jesus as the Bread of Life: Jesus doesn't just offer us bread; He is the Bread of Life. This means that our relationship with God is not an abstract concept but a tangible reality where God Himself becomes our sustenance. This relationship is the key to experiencing true and lasting satisfaction. [11:11]
5. The Sweetness of God: To truly find satisfaction in God, we must experience His sweetness. This means not just loving God but also liking Him and desiring communion with Him. When God becomes our sweetest thing, even the good things in our lives become sweeter. This week, let us pause to notice our deeper hunger and turn to Jesus to satisfy our souls. [12:56]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[01:25] - The Search for Satisfaction
[02:56] - Human Quest for Fulfillment
[04:42] - Imperishable Bliss
[06:16] - Temporary Contentment
[07:52] - Proper Ordering of Loves
[09:41] - Ultimate Satisfaction in God
[11:11] - Jesus as the Bread of Life
[12:56] - The Sweetness of God
[14:40] - Noticing Deeper Hunger
[16:22] - Invitation to Surrender
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. John 6:27 - "Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."
2. John 6:35 - "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"
#### Observation Questions
1. What does Jesus mean when He says, "Do not work for food that perishes"? How does this relate to the people's physical hunger? [01:25]
2. In John 6:35, Jesus declares, "I am the bread of life." What is the significance of this statement in the context of the Bread of Life Discourse? [11:11]
3. How does Jesus use the people's search for physical food to illustrate a deeper spiritual truth? [01:25]
4. What examples did the pastor give to show how people seek satisfaction in transient things? [02:56]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think Jesus emphasizes the importance of seeking "food that endures for eternal life"? How does this concept challenge our everyday pursuits? [01:25]
2. How does the idea of "proper ordering of loves" as taught by St. Augustine help us understand the source of true satisfaction? [07:52]
3. What does it mean to experience the "sweetness of God"? How does this affect our relationship with other good things in life? [12:56]
4. How does Jesus' sacrifice on the cross relate to His claim of being the Bread of Life? What does this mean for our spiritual hunger and satisfaction? [12:56]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own life. What are some perishable things you have been seeking for satisfaction? How have they ultimately disappointed you? [01:25]
2. How can you begin to reorient your life towards seeking God as your ultimate source of fulfillment? What practical steps can you take this week? [04:42]
3. Think about the concept of "proper ordering of loves." Are there areas in your life where your loves are disordered? How can you start to place God as your ultimate love? [07:52]
4. Jesus invites us to experience Him as the Bread of Life. How can you make your relationship with God more tangible and real in your daily life? [11:11]
5. The pastor mentioned the importance of experiencing the sweetness of God. What are some ways you can cultivate a deeper desire and communion with God this week? [12:56]
6. During moments of contentment, do you still feel a longing for something more? How can you use these moments to turn your focus towards eternal satisfaction in Jesus? [14:40]
7. How can you encourage others in your small group or community to seek the imperishable bliss that only God can provide? What role can you play in helping them reorient their lives towards God? [04:42]
Devotional
Day 1: The Universal Quest for Satisfaction
Every human soul experiences a deep hunger for contentment and fulfillment. We often seek to satisfy this hunger with perishable things like career success, relationships, or material possessions, but these will ultimately disappoint us. True satisfaction can only be found in Jesus, the Bread of Life. Jesus uses the physical hunger of the people in His time to illustrate a deeper spiritual hunger that resides in every human soul. He emphasizes that while we often seek to satisfy this hunger with perishable things, true and lasting satisfaction can only be found in Him. This is a common human experience, as illustrated by cultural references like Mick Jagger's "I can't get no satisfaction" and U2's "I still haven't found what I'm looking for." [01:25]
Isaiah 55:2-3 (ESV): "Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David."
Reflection: Think about a recent time when you sought satisfaction in something perishable. How did it ultimately leave you feeling? How can you turn to Jesus to fulfill that deeper hunger today?
Day 2: The Imperishable Bliss
Even in moments of contentment, there is a lingering desire for something more, something imperishable. This longing points to our need for a deeper, eternal satisfaction that only God can provide. Recognizing this can help us reorient our lives towards seeking God as our ultimate source of fulfillment. The transient things of this world, while good, cannot fulfill our deepest longings. They are perishable and will ultimately disappoint us if we rely on them as our primary source of satisfaction. This is a common human experience, as illustrated by cultural references like Mick Jagger's "I can't get no satisfaction" and U2's "I still haven't found what I'm looking for." [04:42]
2 Corinthians 4:18 (ESV): "As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
Reflection: Reflect on a time when you felt a lingering desire for something more, even in a moment of contentment. How can you reorient your focus towards seeking eternal satisfaction in God?
Day 3: The Proper Ordering of Loves
St. Augustine teaches that our loves must be properly ordered, with God as our ultimate love. When we place our primary satisfaction in transient things, it leads to dysfunction and disappointment. By making God our ultimate love, we can enjoy other good things in their proper context. Jesus invites us to seek the "food that endures for eternal life," which He offers as the Bread of Life. He doesn't just give us bread; He is the Bread of Life. This means that our relationship with God is not an abstract concept but a tangible reality where God Himself becomes our sustenance. [07:52]
Matthew 6:33 (ESV): "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Reflection: Consider the areas of your life where your loves might be disordered. How can you begin to place God as your ultimate love and enjoy other good things in their proper context?
Day 4: Jesus as the Bread of Life
Jesus doesn't just offer us bread; He is the Bread of Life. This means that our relationship with God is not an abstract concept but a tangible reality where God Himself becomes our sustenance. This relationship is the key to experiencing true and lasting satisfaction. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, where His body was broken and His blood shed, is the ultimate act of love that redeems us and offers us eternal life. When we truly experience the sweetness of God, even the good things in our lives become sweeter. [11:11]
John 6:35 (ESV): "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"
Reflection: How can you make your relationship with Jesus more tangible and real in your daily life? What steps can you take to experience Him as your sustenance?
Day 5: The Sweetness of God
To truly find satisfaction in God, we must experience His sweetness. This means not just loving God but also liking Him and desiring communion with Him. When God becomes our sweetest thing, even the good things in our lives become sweeter. This week, let us pause to notice our deeper hunger and turn to Jesus to satisfy our souls. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, where His body was broken and His blood shed, is the ultimate act of love that redeems us and offers us eternal life. When we truly experience the sweetness of God, even the good things in our lives become sweeter. [12:56]
Psalm 34:8 (ESV): "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"
Reflection: Think about how you can experience the sweetness of God in your daily life. What practical steps can you take to deepen your communion with Him and make Him your ultimate source of satisfaction?
Quotes
### Quotes for outreach
1. "So Jesus is using the physical hunger that these people have, and then their search to satisfy that hunger, he's using that to point to a reality of a spiritual hunger in which every human soul experiences. And not only that, but then, so when he says this, he's stressing the fact that with the desire that we all have for contentment, right, for satisfaction, for fulfillment, which is in every human soul, he's stressing the fact that with the desire that we all have for contentment, he then stresses the fact that most of the time to satisfy, we often strive after perishable things, things that ultimately will disappoint us, things that spoil." [01:25] (47 seconds)
2. "Think of your own search to be satisfied. Where is it that you try and try and try and try? Who is it that you turn to? Or what is it that you turn to, to try and try and try? The other well-known song by U2 says, I've climbed the highest mountain. I've kissed honey lips. I've scaled these city walls, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. It's a story of all humanity, right? We've always been on this. We're always on the search to seek to be satisfied." [02:56] (42 seconds)
3. "Here's the key. Good things. Should they bring content, contentment and satisfaction and fulfillment? A hundred percent they should. But the key is, if I'm looking toward them to satisfy a deeper thing in me, am I, if I'm looking for them to satisfy a deeper hunger, I will be disappointed. Said another way, if you take people, spouse, kids, or things, career, money, pleasure, if I take things, if I take people and I turn them into my main source of satisfaction, it will make a mess of things." [07:52] (60 seconds)
4. "Jesus in verse 35 says, he said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger. And whoever believes in me will never thirst. Listen, Jesus doesn't say just, I will give you this bread. I will give you this bread. I will give you this bread. I will give you the bread of life. He says, I am the bread of life. See, Christianity is not this abstract thing of like, hey, you make the move after you learn that God loves you. And then, okay, make the move that God loves you. Know it and then make the move." [11:11] (34 seconds)
5. "The only way that you can have life, he says, is because that I gave my life and I died. So you might be redeemed and saved from your sin and the darkness of your heart. And now I'm going to give you my flesh to eat, my flesh to eat. My blood to drink so that you might have eternal life. That's how we're ultimately satisfied, but you have to know that God is sweet. Like really know that God is sweet. Do I, do I experience God is sweet? Do I desire and want to be in communion with him?" [12:56] (40 seconds)
### Quotes for members
1. "If my career is the source of my satisfaction, it will come back to bite you. Your career will bite your family. It will bite your spouse. If your family, your spouse, your kids are the main source of your satisfaction, it will cause dysfunction in your heart. It will all, it will cause an angst that you will have a trouble coping with. And what it ultimately is, is as I try to point to you many times before, St. Augustine is describing it as just, it's things that are out of order. St. Augustine says, God, in that case, isn't my ultimate love. property, the proper ordering of loves, God has to be the ultimate love." [07:52] (62 seconds)
2. "Just tell yourself, I'm going to lead church today. I'm going to like, I'm going to go. I'm going to have God be the one that ultimately satisfies me. And I'm going to put things in order. I'm going to have him as my ultimate love. I'm going to, I'm going to stop turning to the perishable things, the perishable things that I know I turn to that, that are too much of a source of satisfaction for me. It doesn't work that way. Your heart isn't that way. My heart isn't that way. Our hearts have to be captured by the beauty of something. Or St. Augustine says, we have to find that God is sweet." [09:41] (37 seconds)
3. "And so this week, maybe the encouragement, the prayer for me, for, for, for, for my own heart and for your heart is the maybe pause it sometime this week and to notice your hunger, a deeper, a deeper hunger, maybe even in the course of this liturgy to notice that this week, even in the times of contentment, when you're content, when your heart's content, when your heart is satisfied, when it's fulfilled in those moments, can you, can, can you, can you experience still a desire for an imperishable bliss in which that's not going to ultimately lead the grasp of your hands?" [14:40] (42 seconds)
4. "So the invitation here is maybe if we can get to that spot, the offer, then the invitation is that when you notice it, maybe even right now, I'm able to notice it in this homily, the desire to be satisfied, to have the search stop and to surrender to him who is the bread of life who came down from heaven." [16:22] (21 seconds)
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