God has many names. In John 6:35 we see Jesus calling Himself the Bread of Life. It was His body broken for us, and His blood shed so that we may have eternal life. We must eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:54).

We see Mary choosing the good portion in Luke 10:42. We find David‘s whole being longing for God, being fully satisfied as with the richest of foods (Psalm 63). In Psalm 73 Asaph declares, “but God is my portion forever.” These people knew God as the Bread of Life. They lost their appetite for everything except for Jesus Himself. Nothing else satisfied them except Jesus. These people truly walked with God.

They experienced miracles, signs, and wonders. They heard the voice of God. He provided for them, and protected them. These people experienced so many wonderful things that are a part of this journey of following Jesus and yet we see them never changing the menu. Every time they got a taste of Jesus they only became more hungry. Every time Jesus poured himself out they became even more thirsty.

Their hunger for the Lord was what set them apart. They never settled. They weren’t satisfied with just enough. They lived an all or nothing lifestyle. They starved themselves from everything that wasn’t Jesus. They tasted and saw that the Lord was good, forever ruining their appetite for this world. They lived the best life by feeding off of the Good Portion who is Jesus the Bread of Life.

In our world today it seems we know Jesus as the Crumbs of Life. Jesus spreads His crumbs throughout our day beckoning us closer to Him. The crumbs are meant to lead you not feed you. Fear tells us to take the crumbs and ration it out because who knows when our next meal will be? The taste alone is not the meal but an invitation into a lifestyle. We act like orphans, clueless that we have a wonderful Father that sustains our every need by being our only need.

The christian life isn’t a four course meal it’s not a full menu with appetizers and desserts. ”Yeah I’ll order the christian combo. I’ll start with journaling as my appetizer. After that I’ll take an hour worship set and can I have the Bible study group on the side? For my drink I’d love the daily scripture verse extra sweet please. For dessert let’s go with an awesome sermon about the goodness of God. Check please!”

We stuff ourselves full of crumbs only to find our stomachs empty and growling. The crumbs are meant to lead you not feed you. This behavior comes from how much we trust the Bread of Life. We don’t trust that He really is who He says He is. We take these crumbs in fear that they may be our last meal. We have become just like the Israelites who hoarded the manna that fell from the sky as God led them to the land flowing with milk and honey.

The truth is, trusting God is really hard. It’ll be full of pain and suffering. You no longer get to be in control, and mystery meets you at every step that you take. That is why He gives us his crumbs. Each day we have the opportunity to taste and see. The crumbs are in no way a bad thing. Jesus is the one that is handing out the crumbs in the first place. But these crumbs were never meant to spoil our appetite. These crumbs are meant to increase our hunger for the only one who can truly satisfy the deep ache within our bellies. We must be ok with being uncomfortable. We must be ok with the pain that comes with hunger.

As Jesus lays the crumbs out before us, we often look to where they trail off too. The mystery that lies ahead creates a fear in us that causes us to settle with a few crumbs. We follow the crumbs until it moves outside of our comfort zone. We forget that the further along the path that Jesus lead you on, the less you get to take with you. We lose sight of Jesus. We were never meant to live the crumby life. Each and every day we have the opportunity to put our trust in the one who is the Bread of Life. Each day is another step towards the Good Portion.

We must stop indulging ourselves in the pleasures of life when in fact deep down we know they will never satisfy. We must starve ourselves from everything but Jesus himself, so that our hunger may increase, helping us to refocus and re-center. Once again, it all gets brought back to trust. It is only through trusting him that we may be able to enjoy the feast that he has set before us.

-Luke