Christ, Our Food and Salvation

Bible Reading: John 6:47-58

Julie’s stomach grumbled. It felt like it had been ages since she’d had a bite of food. “Mom, can I have a snack?” she called out.

“You just ate lunch. Why do you need a snack?” Mom called back from the dining room where she was cleaning.

“That was hours ago!” Julie said. “I’m hungry again.”

“All right, you can have some fruit snacks. They’re in the pantry.”

Julie hopped up and flew over to the pantry. She grabbed two bags of fruit snacks and went back to the couch.

“One bag, please, Julie,” Mom called from the dining room.

“How did you know?” Julie called back, returning a fruit snack package to the pantry.

“Moms have their ways,” Mom replied.

At dinner, Julie wolfed her food down quickly, then helped herself to seconds.

“You must be hungry, Julie,” Dad said, eyeing her.

“You should have seen her earlier today,” said Mom.

“I’ll die without food!” Julie replied.

Dad chuckled. “You’re right. None of us can live without food. You know, that reminds me of the meal we had at church on Sunday.”

Julie furrowed her brows. “We didn’t eat lunch at church this week.”

“I’m not talking about lunch—I’m talking about Jesus!” Dad said. Now Julie looked even more confused. “Without Him, we would perish, just like we would die without earthly food,” Dad went on. “Jesus is our spiritual food. He feeds us and nourishes us, and we rely on Him for our salvation.”

“And…going to church is like eating?” Julie asked, still not quite sure she understood.

Dad nodded. “It’s one of the ways He feeds our souls—through the truth of the Bible and the love of other Christians. And there’s also a special meal of bread and juice we enjoy together at church.”

“Oh, you mean communion,” said Julie.

“Right,” Dad said. “Communion reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made to save us and how we need His love and forgiveness every day, just like we need food. We need to go to Him continually so He can nourish us.”

Julie put down her fork. “I’m finally feeling full,” she said. “But I could use some spiritual food. Dad, why don’t you get your Bible and read us a story?”

Dad smiled. “I’d be glad to.” • Caly Groves

How About You?

Do you often get hungry and want something to eat? You probably do! We all need food to survive and eat it every day. Do you know that you need Jesus every day too? You need Him to nourish you spiritually with His grace and love. He often does that when you pray, read His Word, and worship Him with other Christians. Let Him feed your soul every day.

Today’s Key Verse:
John 6:35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.” (NLT)

Today’s Key Thought:

Jesus feeds our souls