True power is not of selfish control. The false wields the sword but its power is not true, as it is not of Heaven, therefore yields no harvest. Destruction is not gain. Consumption is of the empty soul. Those who move and shove, trample and lay waste, these are never quenched. Gain is of fuel for a fire that demands only more. The heart of greed grasps and grabs, but remains empty. This is the vain temptation, a world’s offering that only starves its guests. Full is its ornate table, but empty each morsel. Desire quickens the eating, even at cost of all else, but the sweet taste does not swallow, and gaunt grows the soul that feasts there. I offer not as the world, for My food is real food, and My drink real drink. I lay down My life that you might have it. Those who reject the false will be filled; those who give, will be given to. Great indeed is the pull of vanity, of pride and fame, but you must not be fooled as a moth to a flame, for life is of My truth, and those who consume it shall find life full and eternal. Open your hand. What does it hold? How thin is your soul for many the empty years? Come, eat. Turn from the pursuit of what does not satisfy, a biting of the wind. My table is full; it is of true food that your soul might find the true power given only of the one true God.
John 6:51-58 (CSB) – “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
Bottom Line: Are you too busy? Our work life can own us and can steal away what is truly valuable in life. The number of families that fall apart due to an unbalanced work life, even among Christians, is growing and already staggering (30-50% depending where you get your information). Work lives are often in isolation, and behind the screen of “providing”, can deceptively grow to drain our energy, consume more and more of our waking hours, and rob us of being able to give true provision to our families. Sincere, professing Christ-followers, due to financial and career pressures, are finding it commonplace to skip church for deadlines, little league games for customer demands and anniversaries or vacations for climbing the corporate ladder. Many at the end of the week find themselves too tired for their families or faith, and both wither under the same dust that covers their Bibles. Jesus offers us much, much more. Instead of a life that fills our pride, but empties our souls, remember the true riches He has promised, when you put the world’s offerings at a distant second, find balance, and dine with Him.
