Title: A Strange Diet / Topic: Transformation

Today’s Reading: John 5, John 6

Scripture: John 6:53-58
53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 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. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

Observation: The crowd listening to these words of Jesus reacted with a combination of horror and disgust, noting that this was a hard teaching. They were appalled at the idea of cannibalism that Jesus was advocating, and many people who had been following him to this point abandoned him. But being a disciple means accepting the difficult teachings as well as the easy ones.

Application: The older I get the more I understand the truth of these words. The old saying, "You are what you eat", applies. As I "eat" Jesus, he becomes my sustenance and I cannot live without him. I would die if I refused to eat food. In the same way, I would die without taking in Jesus. His body and blood become a part of me as I obey him and I am changed from a person who responds as any natural human being would to one who is able to respond like Jesus did.

Prayer: Father, I have experienced the changes in me as I eat the flesh and drink the blood of your Son, Jesus. It is a horribly graphic picture of the wonderful transformation that I continue to experience as my "diet" becomes limited to the Son. I don't want anymore junk food, but only that which will make me more like you. I have to admit, it's emotionally painful experiences that have taught me to be disciplined in my diet, and while I don't enjoy the pain, I do treasure the growth in my spirit and knowing you more intimately. Thank you for providing such rich food.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.