MOLDY BREAD
When was the last time you felt like God fed you with new bread?
Before heading out to Atlanta last weekend, I disposed of some old bread and turned off my air conditioning. This, my friends, was a recipe for disaster. When I came back to my apartment, there was a pungent stench. Looking inside my garbage bin, there was the bread: molding, stinking, and breeding flies. I immediately went to dispose of the trash, clean out the mold that had touched the top of the garbage lid, and kill the pesky flies. Though it took some effort, the apartment is back to normal.
When thinking about that incident, I began to realize just how that bread was analogous to our own spiritual lives. Often times, I live my Christian life based on the bread I received from God in the past. I look back to times I experienced God before, and convictions I received from His Word previously. I assume that those things from the past are enough for me to carry out my walk victoriously in the present. Yet, when taking an inventory of how my heart is and how my actions are, I begin to realize just how tainted with mold my heart has become. I see how my habits are like the flies which are busy doing a lot of work but accomplishing nothing.
EATING OLD BREAD WILL NOT BRING ABOUT NEW GROWTH. WE NEED FRESH BREAD TO KEEP US GROWING.
I am reminded of the story of the children of Israel gathering manna in the desert. Each day, God rained down bread to sustain them for that day. Some of the people took a little extra to try to save it for the next day. They did that so that they did not have to put in the effort to gather it in the morning. However, that manna they saved became infested with worms and reeked.
Similarly, God is always faithful in His desire to feed us with fresh sustenance for our present life. Unfortunately, it is our own hearts that are either so fed by the world or too lazy in our pursuit of the bread of life in His Word that causes us to be content and slowly mold.
THE QUESTION IS NOT IF GOD IS FAITHFUL TO PROVIDE US NEW BREAD. HE IS! THE QUESTION BECOMES: IS YOUR HEART HUNGRY?
Only when you are hungry do you make the effort to go find food. If you are not hungry, ask yourself: are you settling for lesser things or moldy bread to sustain you? Are you producing fruit, or are you producing flies?
So, are you hungry? New bread is being served up at your church, your small group, or another avenue this week! Find a gospel centered church near you! If you need a place to eat, always feel free to hit me up and come by my church, Living Hope (onelivinghope.com).
Stay hungry my friends.
-Jeswin Thomas