There is a physical side and a spiritual side to every element of our existence. The Bread of Life given to us is the message Christ brought to the world regarding the eternal Kingdom of God and the salvation required to get there. His focus was on both the physical and spiritual aspects of what true, sincere religion was all about. Moses was given the instructions to build the physical tabernacle during his 40 days in the mount, while Jesus was given the instructions to build the spiritual Eternal Temple during His 40 days in the wilderness. As Moses gave the people instructions to make the physical instruments of worship, Jesus showed the people how He was the spiritual personification of each instrument and vessel of the Old Covenant, and gave the people instructions of true spiritual worship. Jesus put every element of the Old Covenant law into its proper, spiritual perspective because until that time, the people had simply never associated a deeper meaning to the physical laws God had given them. When Jesus began His ministry about the perfect world to come, the people were very attentive. They understood the physical concept of a never-ending, perfect world of peace, and yes, they wanted it, as we all do. Then, like all of us today, their next question was the obvious one: What shall I do to obtain eternal life? Does not our eternal destiny depend on a truthful answer to this very question? When Jesus explained to His followers in direct language, that a lifetime of faith and works, both a physical and spiritual devotion, is required to receive eternal rewards, many of them gave up and chose to go back from walking with Him (John 6:66). The path was too straight and narrow. They chose to return to their old ways, because they didnt want to give them up. This spiritual concept of religion would inconvenience their lifestyles and bother their consciences. They preferred to live in blissful ignorance and rejected the truth. Once they knew the truth, however, they had no excuse not to obey. Others, after receiving the truth, had no hesitation in obeying. They did not wait until years later. They did not compare this gospel message with other religions. They were told the way of salvation Jesus taught and they accepted it, realizing what was involved and willing to make the commitment. They understood that sincere repentance is both spiritually regretting our errors and overcoming the physical temptation to allow them to happen again. They understood the concept of baptism to be both a physical cleansing and a spiritual renewal. When they accepted Christs answers to their question they accepted the teachings about the Kingdom of God. They understood that both spiritual faith and physical works together are required for eternal life. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, in a true and spiritual sense, is to believe and obey that testimony which He has proclaimed to be truth: Salvation takes a lot of work, sacrifice and effort on both physical and spiritual levels. Our fleshly desire is to find the easiest way of salvation possible without sacrifice, without working for it and without giving up anything. In other words, hoping to slip into the kingdom by giving God just as little of our time as possible, just as little an offering as possible and with as little work as possible. Are we looking for the right, truthful answer of salvation or are we looking for the easiest, quickest and most convenient answer? While we may fool our fellow men, and even fool ourselves, we are not fooling God. |
