City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 

John 6:53-57 (NKJV)

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴ But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ 

Luke 4:1-4 (NKJV)

Reflection

In life there are many things we can feed on besides food to fill us up. Be it entertainment, music, relationships, or money. We live on these foods daily and hope it will bring us life. It is a constant reminder that the God-sized hole in our heart just cannot seem to fill up when we strive after these things. And we can see this in people all around us, be it friends or colleagues.

Jesus says simply, “feed on me.” Because when you do, you won’t go hungry. You will be filled completely; nothing else in life can do this for you. Yet, we often go around trying to find something else and if Jesus doesn’t offer us that entertainment or fulfillment to satisfy our other desires, then we leave Him and look for it in other ways.

It is easy to be tempted by the devil and feed on what Satan puts in front of us. The Tempter did so with Jesus, to make Him fulfill the desires of the flesh. But Jesus knew better, He knew that only the Word of God can truly satisfy His cravings.

Application

Are you going to Jesus to satisfy your fleshly desires are you going to Him to feed on what He can give you, which is a life full of joy and peace? When we abide in Jesus, our desires are filled and we can find satisfaction. The crowd left Jesus because what they sought was not what God offered.

Are you one of the crowd that will leave when Jesus doesn’t fulfill your desires or will you be like Peter who says, “Lord, to whom [or to what] shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Prayer

Father in heaven, thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins. His life, death, and resurrection is what i need to fulfill the God-sized hole in my heart. Let me constantly seek satisfaction in Your Word, through prayer, and dwelling in Your love for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.