You can use a pocketknife as a paperweight. And you can use a pocketknife to prop open a door. A pocketknife can function in these two ways, but if those were the only ways that a person believed a pocketknife could be used, they would be wrong. Pocketknives come equipped with all kinds of foldout tools to perform all kinds of functions. Ignoring the many uses of a pocketknife and struggling with all kinds of tasks because you ignore the tool right in your hand spoils your mood along with the outcome of your work.
Pocketknife technology has come a long way, but even the best one would not have helped the Israelites carve the perfect airtight container to preserve the manna God sent from heaven. In our Old Testament reading from Exodus 16, God had graciously sent the honey flavored coriander seed sized bread to the Israelites to keep them alive in the wilderness. And his instruction that accompanied the manna was very simple, 19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” 20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. Moses was angry because some of the Israelites did not listen to God. Whether it was ignorant or arrogant sin against God, there was nothing any Israelite could do to stop the bread from spoiling after one day.
Unless it was the day before the Sabbath when they were to collect twice as much so they could rest from their work and worship God. But even then, we hear in Exodus 16, 27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?” God was so gracious in feeding Israel and so simple with his command, yet some did not listen. Now, before you are tempted to draw another conclusion, the truth we must understand is that the primary reason some did not listen was spiritual. So, those whose hearts were low on faith in God had bellies empty of bread.
Taking God’s work to give you life for granted spoils your heart. Again, those Israelites that took for granted the first day of manna without any regard for God’s instructions and very likely little to no thanks to God for his miraculous gift of bread had spiritually spoiled hearts. Rotten and maggot filled are fitting descriptions for hearts that do not listen to God. And those same spoiled sinful hearts beat in the hearts of those we heard about in our Gospel reading from John 6.
This reading recounts what happened the day after Jesus fed the 5,000 men plus all the women and children. The day after, the crowds caught up with Jesus after he and his disciples crossed over to another city on the Sea of Galilee. Standing before the large crowd, Jesus called out their selfish reasons for seeking him out, 26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Most of the crowd it appears believed they had little need for a Savior God who gives eternal life. Instead, they wanted a walking vending machine, and a free one at that. Jesus wasted no time calling out the crowd for their sin because he loved them and did not want them lost trading their souls for their stomachs.
Our hearts are spoiled with sin just like all people from all time. Our sinful hearts continue to work for the food that spoils like a machine on an assembly line following the same pattern. When we get up every morning, we all have the Bible at our fingertips in print or on a screen. Every day we have the opportunity to feed our souls with the God the Father in heaven approved message of Jesus’ forgiveness and resurrection, but we turn to what the world approves.
Rather than hungrily grab our Bibles and sit down to feast on the truth, we scroll silly videos, answer emails, listen to blood pressure raising news stories or hit snooze because we stayed up the night before indulging in beverages or binge watching a healthy slice of some season of some show. While God waits ready to tell us how much he loves us, how he does not hold all the guilt we carry around against us and how he provides wisdom, guidance and purpose for our lives, we choose to wait in the long line with the majority of the world to eat the spiritual equivalent of a twinkie. Now, before we are tempted to come up with a list of reasons why we did not regularly feed our souls with the gospel this past week, the truth we must understand is that not doing so could starve our faith. The devil loves the idea of you trying to survive off feeding your faith few Sundays a month, while the vast majority of your time is spent taking for granted the life God gave you, and taking for granted your daily need for forgiveness and salvation from God.
When God’s law empties our hearts leaving us starving for spiritual sustenance, Jesus stands ready as the bread of life. God speaks directly to us about our sins so that we are not lost. There are no hidden ingredients with God. Instead, he clearly provides what we need as we hear in our New Testament reading from 1 Corinthians 10, 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! God has preserved the record of his interaction with sinners like us so that we would see the seriousness of sin.
Then, he calls us back to what allows us to stand firm and strong, Jesus. Jesus feeds our spiritual hunger and gives us life as we read in John 6, 35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. The amazing truth about God is that he not only provides us with food and the ability to work for it as we read in Acts 14, 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. God also has provided us with eternal life as Jesus said, 33 “For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus left heaven to live in this world with us working every day for us. He lived without sin so that he could sacrifice his perfect life on the cross and take it up again three days later.
Now, we have been saved from our sins, even the sins of taking God’s grace for granted and pursuing what spiritually spoils. In Jesus, we have what we need to live forever. In Jesus we are forgiven and made righteous. God did the work for us, and he gave us the gift of faith to do as Jesus said in John 6, 29 … “to believe in the one he has sent.”
God created us with the need to be fed. By design your faith must be fed. By design, God wants a relationship with you. By design, God did not make you to be self-sufficient and independent, but to depend on him, trust, love and give thanks for his life sustaining power for you. When you feed your faith as regularly as you feed your body, as in multiple times a day, you will find satisfaction. A satisfaction better than after sitting down and enjoying your favorite meal. Take the time then to do a meal plan for your soul. Get out whatever you use for your schedule and write in time with Jesus. Find someone who will hold you accountable to spending time with Jesus and do the same for them. Take advantage of the regularly scheduled time in the Bible with brothers and sisters in Christ offered here at Divine Peace. Feed on the Bread from heaven, and Jesus will give you life.
You can use a pocketknife as a paperweight. And you can use a pocketknife to prop open a door. A pocketknife can function in these two ways, but if those were the only ways that a person believed a pocketknife could be used, they would be wrong. Pocketknives come equipped with all kinds of foldout tools to perform all kinds of functions. When we only look to Jesus to provide us with things like food or water, we miss out on who he is and all he has done for us. Jesus gave his life to save us from our sins, rose from the dead and through the gift of faith he gives us eternal life. Remain in his Word and feed your faith because Jesus is the Bread from heaven who gives life to the world. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our three children.
