47-51 “I’m telling you the most solemn and sober truth now: Whoever believes in me has real life, eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna bread in the desert and died. But now here is Bread that truly comes down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread will not die, ever. I am the Bread—living Bread!—who came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this Bread will live—and forever! The Bread that I present to the world so that it can eat and live is myself, this flesh-and-blood self.”
52 At this, the Jews started fighting among themselves: “How can this man serve up his flesh for a meal?”
53-58 But Jesus didn’t give an inch. “Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you. The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me. This is the Bread from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and later died. Whoever eats this Bread will live always.” John 6: 47-58 with emphasis
Thanksgiving at my grandma's house is nuts. Relatives show up out of nowhere, my mom tells her 21 and 22-year-old daughters to be on their best behavior, and there is food everywhere. There are a couple of staples we consider absolutely necessary for our thanksgiving. You got those little rolls from The Picnic (only Nashvillians will understand the delicacy here. Think manna with butter.) and the ham that's baked with a can of Coke poured over it, because everything is better with 12 ounces of high fructose corn syrup, and lastly, the French Silk Pie, which I will not explain for the name itself makes me hungry. And every Thanksgiving I eat my body weight in rolls and ham while pretending to watch whatever football game is on. My Grandma goes around telling everyone they're too thin and must eat more, and no one argues with Grandma. Then the pie comes around and I question if I have room. I am completely full and want to take a nap. But obviously it's French Silk Pie, and I can't turn down a dessert that sounds like a fancy brand of linens. So I take a small sliver and enjoy the last bit of Thanksgiving knowing I will regret this pie at the gym tomorrow...
Got the metaphor yet? Ok, here it is. When Jesus said he was the Bread of Life, He wasn't talking about an optional part of your meal that made you question if you had room. Jesus tells us we must come hungry and thirsty. Jesus must be our square meal that we need to survive, not our small sliver of French Silk Pie we tack on to the end of our meal. Jesus is our ham with coke, the foundation of our lives. We must place Him before our own agendas, creating a life completely founded in His love and His Word, our opinions optional. So here are three ways we can try to place Jesus at the foundation of our lives each day:
1.) Start and end our days in His Word: He wrote this love letter for us, and beginning and ending our day wrapped up in His love makes it a lot easier to continuously turn to Him throughout the day.
2.) Stay with Him in tough decisions- When we have to make big decisions we often put God on the back burner so we can focus on what we think we should do. Stressing ourselves out in order to come up with the perfect solution. But when we turn to God and ask for guidance, He will give it to us. We may not like the answer but if we obey HIs commands we are strengthening our foundation in Him. Making His word the last word.
3.) State our foundation out loud: When we say something out loud, we are placing it in our conscious thoughts. When we proclaim that Jesus is the foundation of our lives to others, we create a conscious accountability that enables us to set an example to others that continually represents where our lives are founded. It's a lot harder to go back on your own words when others are expecting you to follow through and turning to you as example of a life lead by Christ.
I encourage you to make a list of ways you can place Jesus at the foundation of your life. Maybe its reading more of the Word or praying with others in times of trial. Whatever it is, do it with an intentional heart, seeking Jesus at the foundation of your life. Jesus is not French Silk Pie. He is not optional. He is crucial.