87. Meat that Endures
John 6:27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
God promises to give us meat that endures unto eternal life. The meat which perishes refers to the manna in the wilderness, the bread from heaven. It nourishes for a day or two and then it is gone, perished. The food which the Son of man gives endures forever. Jesus Himself is the Bread of life, the bread of heaven.
We eat, or receive, the true bread from heaven which endures to eternal life when we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. This Bread endures and continues to give life, strength and health today and forever, because it is the very life of God. When we hear the Gospel it is life-giving and health-giving, nourishing and sustaining the eternal life that is already in us by faith; this is the true Life and it is eternal.
Since we sin daily, and daily sin produces only death and destruction, we need forgiveness daily; and daily forgiveness produces life and health and strength and nourishment and sustenance for living the full and rich life God wants for us. We can only get this kind of spiritual life and the nourishment of it from the Word of God which gives us the Gospel, which is Jesus Himself, the Bread of Life. This life and its strengthening endurance only come through the Gospel. Hearing only the Law, morality, wisdom, philosophy, psychology, inspiration, motivational speaking, self-help steps, how-to improvements, and any other good thing does not minister life. It is only true bread, solid meat, spiritual food and health-giving spiritual nourishment that ministers life.
The Gospel that once saved us and brought Jesus to us needs to be heard thousands of times in a lifetime. The New Life needs to be nourished by the Gospel to make it strong enough to overcome the Old Self, which must be continually drowned and die through repentance and faith while remembering our Baptism (Romans 6). The New Man with its new life grows healthy and strong only by feeding it Jesus through the Gospel, not through the Law or Morality or Good Works. The flesh and the world continue strong until confronted and defeated by the Gospel, and without this feeding of true Bread (Jesus) the spirit grows faint. The Bible and our Church Fathers recognized this; the Old Testament gives the Sabbath and the New Testament suggests Sunday, signifying that we need to hear the Gospel at least once a week; but, of course, daily is better. “Labor for” this Food does not mean work hard to earn it, but it means pay attention to it and receive it often.