Eternal Food

Eternal Food

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.

On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.

John 6:27

In this passage, Christ compares what perishes with what endures forever. If we were truly concerned about this difference, we would keep holding on to what is eternal and stop clinging to what is temporary. Christ is saying here, “If I were to give you right now the type of things you already have, such as the bread you get from the baker, and if I were to give you enough of it to satisfy the entire world, how much would it really help you? If I had more wheat, barley, oats, money, and property than the richest person in the world to give you, what would be gained? I would have food to give you, but it would be perishable food that wouldn’t last forever.”

There isn’t a farmer who would be so foolish as to give one hundred bushels of grain for a crumpled piece of paper. There isn’t a merchant who would exchange a hundred bottles of beer for a glass of water. Both would rather sell their possessions at a premium price.

Christ, however, is saying that everything we own is perishable and that we should willingly give it all away in order to get eternal food. But in this world, we tend to be more concerned about what will pass away than what will last forever. We grab for a handful of food and end up letting go of the gospel.