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. John 6:35 ESV

I grew up in a subdivision of homes built in the 1950’s. Since all our backyards connected and no one had fences, the area served as a great place for baseball (except for when I broke one of the neighbor’s windows with a ground-rules double!} Another feature of our homes was that everyone’s kitchen was in the back of the house. That way, when my mom baked bread, the aroma drifted out to us on our ballfield. Then, sure enough, as soon as mom opened the oven door and out took the bread to cool, we all lined up by the door, hoping for whatever she would give. After lecturing us for a minute on the perils of eating hot bread, mom generally surrendered to our pleading eyes and started slicing. Then, after one bite I was convinced that there was nothing on earth like her fresh baked bread.

Today, when I read that Jesus is the bread of life, I often think of mom’s bread. Just like mom’s bread, Jesus offers His life as a free gift, to be received just for the asking. Mom didn’t advertise or have a rule that we must come in for bread. We were drawn by the sweet aroma wafting through our neighborhood. If we are praying for revival, let’s ask ourselves, “Does the love of Jesus waft out our back door to friends, neighbors and maybe even the guy who shows up to fix our air conditioner?” Not everyone will respond, but when bread is baking, some hungry souls just may line up by our back door. Secondly, are we offering fresh loaves, right out of Heaven’s oven, or are we just handing out day-old bread? When Jesus preached, he couldn’t hide from the crowds. Some came with perfect motives, others showed up out of curiosity and some even came just for what they could get. Jesus didn’t turn any of them away, but because His teaching was so different from what they were used to, many chose to go home before they tasted even a single bite of the Bread of Life. I pray that whatever your situation is today, that you will be listening for His knock on your door. Jesus still comes, still offers His life to us and still waits to see if we will open our door to Him. Will you dare to go even further today and come knock on His door? Jesus is still the fresh baked bread of Heaven, and He is ready to freely give Himself to anyone who will come and truly believe.