Bread Alone
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:3-4, NIV
Give us today our daily bread. – Matthew 6:11, NIV
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth" – Traditional Jewish Prayer[i]
One of the sad fruits of a culture that is constantly on the move and ever more driven by consumption is a lack of meditation. And by that I don’t mean the, empty your mind kind of meditation. I mean thinking deeply about a concept. For instance, everyone reading this is alive but, have we really thought through what it means that our life is not dependent on bread alone? Have we sat with the question of what or who sustains life? In our (mostly) food and drink rich surroundings, we probably haven’t really been able to grapple with that question on a soul deep level. Wilderness is a great setting for meditation. It is the perfect place to be confronted with the fragile nature of human existence. It is a great place to be thinking deeply about bread. Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before the devil challenged him to issue the command to stones and make them bread. Meaning, for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus survived by some other means- how? His life was sustained by God. In some ways, that is an extraordinary occurrence, but, in other ways, it was just as it had always been. Human life does not exist outside of God’s sustaining work. Earth is tilted at 23.5° and as such, there are seasons on our planet. Agriculture depends on these seasonal changes. Or for another example, think about dirt. Soil is the foundation of plant growth which in turn is the foundation to many ecosystems. Most places have only 2-8 inches of the soil that grows crops. Some estimates are that we have only about 60 years of topsoil left for crop growth. And I know all of these facts feel like a trip down some odd science- jeopardy- trivia side quest. But, it is actually central to the point. Most planets do not sustain human life. In fact, the rest of the planets in our solar system are extremely hostile to human life. So, that our planet sustains it and allows it to thrive is unique. And, it reflects the incredible goodness of the Creator. He is in fact the source of life. So, science tells us that we need food, water, and shelter for life. I say, none of those exists unless God gives them to us. Who or what sustains your life? God. Without Him, we cease to exist. As we realize this, it should drive us to question who or what in our lives we depend on more than God for our day-to-day existence. Because, what ever that is, it is a mirage. The real sustaining force is God. Am I dependent on food, career, car, house, retirement, relationship status? Whatever it is, it is a good place to begin a journey into repentance and into further dependence on God. That is why, if we understand the Lord’s prayer well, we aren’t just asking God for bread. We are actually reminding ourselves that our very lives depend on Him and He is a gracious God with abundant supply. When we depend on God and His resources, the pull of what we don’t have becomes less and the pull of what we do have becomes a reminder of His supply rather than our lack. If we stay with Jesus in the wilderness, He will supply all of our needs. Because, we don’t live on bread, we live on the Bread of Life.
[i] https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hamotzi-the-blessing-over-bread/