John 6:47-51
Amen, Amen, I tell you: The one who believes in me has eternal life. “I am the Bread of Life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Applying God’s Word for today: Eternal life from the living bread
What happens to me at the end of this life? Some like to think we just stop existing. Others realize there is a heaven and hell, but they like to think hell is not all that bad, a continuation of the earthly party where one gets to do all the bad stuff they couldn’t do on earth with all its rules. The truth of the matter is that heaven and hell are real. But hell is not a continuation of earth; it is where one is held accountable for all they have done on earth; it is suffering and being condemned away from God. For each sin we commit, we deserve an eternal sentence there. Which seems very bleak. There is no ongoing earthly party. So, does that mean we are all doomed to hell?
Nope! Jesus tells us today that he is the living bread. He brings life. Jesus suffered in our place for all people. He bought our lives with his death on the cross, which means eternal life is ready and waiting for each person. But it comes to each person only by faith in Jesus. By nature, we are dead in our trespasses and sins; we are hostile toward God. But when we have faith, we stop rejecting his love. Faith receives God’s gifts of grace, mercy, and love. It comes to us through God’s means of grace—His Word and sacraments; the Holy Spirit uses these to begin and sustain faith in each believer. We consume Jesus, the Living Bread, through God’s Word. Life is a free gift for each of us, brought to us by faith in Christ our Savior.
Lord God, never give up on us. Always lead us back to you when we drift away. May we continually feast on the Living Bread so that we may have eternal life. Forgive us all our sins for Jesus’ sake, and grant us the sure hope of salvation and the gift of heaven, which is ours by faith in Christ our Lord. Amen.
Death is not an end; it is a transition. For the unbeliever, it is a transition to eternal suffering and torment in hell, with no end or escape. For the believer, it is a transition to be with God forever, not because of anything we have done, but because of God’s love and mercy.