The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. – John 6:63 NIV
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Jesus Christ had just informed the Jews and all those who were listening to his teachings in the temple in Capernaum that he was the “Bread of life” and whoever desires to be raised on the last day and access eternal life will have to eat his flesh and drink his blood – Jn. 6:53-59. Although he was speaking metaphorically, his listeners took his words literally and could not imagine themselves having to eat the flesh and drink the blood of someone whose family records was clearly known to them, just to sustain their existence – Jn. 6:41-42. In their disappointment of not getting filled with bread as it happened on an earlier occasion, they chose to go back, but those going back would not have had much significance if the disciples were not by their comments indicating that they may also be thinking of taking the same decision.
They had commented that the teaching of Jesus Christ was very hard to take and being aware of their thought pattern, he chose to help their understanding of his comments. If telling them that the people will have to eat his flesh and drink his blood to be saved was hard teaching, then they had better be prepared for a harder teaching in the fact that he was from heaven and they will not only witness his ascension to heaven but more importantly, they needed to know, as revealed in the scripture that is the foundation of today’s Devotional, that life is about the spirit (soul), as the flesh (body) counts for nothing, adding that his words to them were deeply spiritual and were the source of life.
That possession of a healthy body (flesh) is a necessary requirement for anyone who is to experience healthy living in this realm is not in argument. That is why everyone is encouraged to take good care of the body by taking all necessary steps that will keep the body healthy. The truth however is that no amount of care for the body stops it from ageing and eventually breaking down completely. The rate of the ageing process due to several factors will definitely differ from one person to the other but in the final analysis, one organ or the other will eventually fail and all the other sections of the body will begin to deteriorate until the entire flesh (body) can no longer be sustained and so breaks down.
The body (flesh), is the housing for the soul that allows it to be relevant in this realm, and once it fails and begins the process of returning to the dust from where it was formed, the soul will be left with no choice than to commence its exit journey to the next phase of existence.
The reality stares man in the face that no matter how much care is given to the body, it will eventually fail and return to dust but the soul will only re-locate to the next phase of life. All the attention given to the care of the body will become wasted and of no value as none of those actions can stop the ageing process.
Jesus Christ in the course of his teachings attempted to provide his disciples with this profound knowledge which only the wise will understand and accept, and which is that, it is good to care for the body (flesh) but also of immense importance is the need to give greater attention and care to the soul. The physical bread will definitely maintain the physical man which is the body (flesh), but that can only be for a while as the ageing process will soon render all that care a clear waste, but the spiritual bread that he is also offering, will provide care for the soul, which to Jehovah, is the real man. This best care for this immortal part of the human creation is available through total adherence to the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ. The soul, unlike the body is indestructible and has only two options with regards to its next phase of existence. It is either eternity in hell or life in the kingdom of heaven and only the one from heaven will know this. He is from heaven and so should be trusted with the truth – Jn. 6:50-51. Only those who have consumed fully all that Jesus Christ represents with his coming to this world will be assured of that life in the kingdom of heaven. All those who took only the physical Bread that he is also able to provide, so as to sustain the body (flesh) will soon lose it to ageing process and will still lose life in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:26), but those who prioritized having the spiritual Bread of life will definitely have life in eternity and still be able to give good life to the body (flesh) before it succumbs to the ageing process – Matt. 6:33.
Do not make the physical bread the main reason for coming to Christ as with that objective, association with him will only provide access to a good life that will be limited to this realm but make the spiritual Bread the priority and you will be able to enjoy good life in this realm and also in the life after life. May God grant us the wisdom to be wise in setting out priorities in Jesus name. Amen.
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