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

When I was a boy, my friends and I used to play baseball in our shared backyards. No matter what the score, we would keep at it, unless a parent called us in, or we smelled the aroma of my mom’s fresh baked bread, wafting out through the kitchen window. Then like thieves rushing to a bank robbery, we would hurry in letting the screen door slam behind us and stand anxiously watching my mother. “What is it you all want?” she would ask us with a smile, before going back to popping those loaves out of the bread pans onto the counter. Then she would always nicely add, “You do know, hot bread is bad for your stomach. It has to cool for at least five minutes.” I think mom just made us wait because she loved to watch us hop from one foot to the other, while our eyes stayed glued to the hands on the clock just above the stove. She must have chuckled watching our twitching faces as the seconds ticked away, but true to her word, at the five-minute mark, mom would put a loaf onto the bread board and begin slicing. Then after slathering it with butter, mom would hand each one of us a slice., while asking, “Now, what do you say?”

“Thank you!” we’d all shout as we ran back outside to play with the last of her bread still in our mouths. When people met Jesus, they may not have been able to put their finger on why, but there was something familiar about Him that stirred a hunger in their hearts, just like the aroma of mom’s bread did for hungry boys. And what about you today? Are you standing outside Heaven’s door, enjoying the aroma of God’s fresh baked bread? Maybe you have come into the kitchen but are still shifting from one foot to the other, thinking you still have to wait your turn. Or have you finally found your seat at God’s kitchen table, and are hungrily gulping down that first buttery slice? Jesus tells us that we don’t have to wait any longer. Fresh bread is God’s promise to everyone who is hungry. But we must choose to come, and ask, and then don’t forget to say thank you!