ONCE YOU’VE TASTED JESUS CHRIST, THERE’S NO TURNING BACK.
Sometimes it seems like we expect God to be like Roald Dahls’ Willy Wonka with a Chocolate Factory that can meet all our eccentric dreams. Issac Newton and plenty other sincere Christians have believed that God had completely left this creation after the 6th day of creation. Still others think that God visits occasionally with special angel emissaries, or in Science fiction vehicles like Wonka’s Great Glass Elevator, Elijah’s Chariots of Fire, Ezekiel’s Wheel within a Wheel or other devices. And when God makes visits after long reclusive rests there are fantastic treats, exotic foods, signs and wonders. According to folk lure and popular jokes, God might play vengeful tricks on unsuspecting creatures so as to reveal our basic selfish and childish wants.
Willy Wonka’s creativity and imagination is worshipped by a fickle consumerist world. But gradually the reader or viewer discovers his very limited and human lost love from his father that drove him to create sensory distractions like Everlasting Gobstoppers, Whipple–Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delights and other amazing treats. Young Charlie Bucket is offered a child’s equivalent to eternal life as the new owner of Willy’s Chocolate Factory, but like the ancient Gilgimesh or Prometheus, Charlie chooses his family over the power and temporary gratification that Willy lavishes. Then Willy learns to reconnect with his own father and to find love again with his own father so as to understand why he has to allow Charlie to come back to bring the family in to live at the idyllic chocolate factory.
Consumer culture redemption and “happily ever after” endings fall short of the Gospel of Christ! Jesus offers us His Bread from the true (not pretend or superficially satisfying) heaven. Jesus reminds us that our ancestors have always eaten food (like bread and even chocolate) and later died. But whoever eats this Bread from Jesus Christ will live always.
But like the 4 other greedy and disobedient children who failed to qualify as permanent residence of the Wonka factory, many among his disciples found this Jesus’ bread from heaven too much to swallow. Jesus asked, “What would happen, if you saw the Son of Man going back up where he came from?” . . . and He wasn’t going to use some kind of special effects Glass Elevator. Instead of magic tricks, sensory distractions, or science fiction paraphernalia He promised to use “The Spirit that makes life. Not even sheer hard work, muscle power, imagination or human willpower can make anything really happen like God makes it. Every word Jesus speaks is the “Spirit-word” (ruach dabar OR logos pneuma) that makes life just as the Creator spoke the world into creation:. . . “let there be light, let there be night and day, heaven and earth, plants, animals, fish, birds and humans.”
But Jesus’ creative Spirit-word power does not force the unwilling to take risks or to be loyal instead of betraying Him. Jesus reminds us here that no one is capable of coming to Him on his or her own. You can’t just go around picking out the candy or miracles that you like and still be obediently attentive to God’s nourishment that you really need. You get to Jesus Christ only as a gift from the Father. God’s gift of eternal salvation is free to all a healing stream, not a limited access amusement park of euphoria to a few lucky kids. Jesus is preparing a place for us in our Father’s mansion. If it were not so, He would not have told us.
In this passage some of Jesus’ disciples leave Him because of “hard sayings”. too bitter or distasteful than expected . . . much like the four children in the Chocolate Factory who try to manipulate how to get blessed instead of gratefully and thankfully accepting the true gifts of the heart. They just could not really taste Jesus for who He really is. They didn’t know His full flavor. But at least Twelve of those disciples refused to leave when Jesus suggests that they leave Him, too. They were REAL disciples of Jesus.
Peter explained it be saying, “Master, to whom would we go? And besides . . . You Master . . . You have the words of real life (daubar hayim), eternal life (ayowna zowey in Greek) the Bread of Life (hayim lechem). He could have said “You’re the real Southern “soul food” (nephish lechem” or “psychey artem)” and not just turnip greens, pinto beans, and corn bread. When we push ourselves away from the table with full stomachs and contented faces . . . feeling how the food seems to nourish both our bodies and our souls, then that’s a simple joy but only a foretaste of glory divine about what eternity must be like.
God's soul food is simple. God invites us to: "Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare" . . . "taste and see that the LORD is good" (Psalm 34:8). Throughout proverbs God pleads with us not to spend our time and energy on things that will never truly satisfy. The New Testament reveals that true eternal contentment is found only in Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life. Your prayers and meditation on scripture will not truly nourish your soul, without Jesus Christ:
ONCE YOU’VE TASTED JESUS CHRIST, THERE’S NO TURNING BACK.
Like Peter says, “We’ve already dedicated ourselves to You, Lord” . . . there’s no turning back. Yes, we’re confident that You, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph and Mary, star and descendent of David . . . “that You Lord are the Holy One of God.”
Earlier in John 4:34 Jesus described His food as doing God’s will and completing His work. Maybe this is more like sharing sourdough or Friendship bread starter instead of making chocolate. Someone else first gives you the yeast culture starter mix. You have to keep adding ingredients along the way. Some people keep this up throughout their life and add a community of friends to the family that shares your original bread starter mix. The wonders of watching the dough rise, smelling freshly baked bread, and filling our stomachs, . . . all of this nourishes our bodies and souls.
Faith in Jesus Christ is a little bit like the sourdough starter . . . a little bit like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, but better. It receives nourishment from God through the Living Word, the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. You may Pray, do your daily Bible reading, perform works and service to others, and commit yourself to doing God's will, but God does most of the work in spite of our failures and imperfections. We only need to add occasional ingredients that feed healthy discipleship. Christ fills us with peace, love and forgiveness like fresh bread. He is Bread of Life who gives us spiritual survival food. We must take and eat by consuming His Way, His Truth and His Life as our own. And then share our starter faith with others so that the Bread of Life may be consumed and lived in others lives.
The previous two years Annemarie and I experienced 3 devastating Hurricanes in the Florida Panhandle. Though the full force of each storm passed us by, our food supply was cut off. After several days, our community had only limited food. We learned each time how to do a better job in sharing what we had. Better yet, God is gracious in providing for our needs. Through our daily church ministries God made sure that fresh food was distributed to each household throughout our community. This was like the manna in the wilderness that we heard about two weeks ago (Exodus 16:4-16). Our lives’ storms and distractions leave us in a wilderness but:
ONCE YOU’VE TASTED JESUS CHRIST, THERE’S NO TURNING BACK.
Much like the Jews of 2000 years ago. We ask Jesus questions that call for long and detailed answers. But, we receive "one-liners" that sum up our relationship to God: believe in Christ! . . . Eat His healthy and eternal Bread of Life by living His life instead of your own poor meal of scrapes from the trash bin of selfishness. Belief is not enough, if we want to enjoy the meal of Christ and not just gorge on God’s good grace and mercy. I must die to self and stay away from being preoccupied with my own sense of importance in God's kingdom. The lordship of Jesus Christ is all the food I should ever need. His love, grace, redemption and promise of eternal life has to be the true and lasting food that feeds you and me.
Submission to God and faith in the One God is sufficient, pleasing, and what God most desires. James 2:17 says, "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead". If believing is all we have to do, how will anything ever get done to further God's kingdom? Jesus' Bread of Life feeds us so that when we lose ourselves in doing God's will, we find eternal life and bring others to eternal life. Good deeds and works are not part of the goal; Faith is the goal. But works must flow from our believing.
Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, grow our faith and help us to spread your word to those You bring into our lives. Jesus Christ is the source of our life's nourishment and Your Holy Spirit is more than sufficient to feed all our hungry souls.
Dear Father God, feed us each day with your holy word through Your Son Jesus Christ. Only You can give us what truly satisfies. Only You can satisfy the physically and spiritually hungry.
God of grace and God of mercy, on Thy people pour Thy power. Thank You for our daily bread that feeds our bodies and sustains our souls.
Remind us to feed all who are hungry and in need around us like you feed us. Through Christ Jesus and in His precious name, Amen.
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