“In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, 2 ‘I have compassion for the crowd because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.’ 4 His disciples replied, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’ 5 He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’ 6 Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They had also a few small fish, and after blessing them he ordered that these, too, should be distributed. 8 They ate and were filled, and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha”
Mark 8:1-10.
I am touched deeply by the metaphorical description of all humanity, including you and me, in the opening lines of this chapter: “In those days there was again a great crowd without anything to eat” Mark 8:1. It is a description of all humanity, for sure. Once again we are people without anything to sustain our own life. We cannot live life on our own. We need the “food of life” that only Jesus Christ can give us. And Jesus sees in each of us in our life a dire need for food, the bread of life. He said this in plain, clear words, and He hollered this from the nCross. “35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” John 6:35.
Day after day we struggle to live apart from Christ. we think we can find sufficient food for our life. But we fail miserably when we believe we can go it alone without the Bread of Life, without Jesus Christ, Himself.
So today, in just the opening words of this story we are call to stop, turn around, and open our hearts to the Bread of Life for us al — Jesus Christ. Beg Him today in your prayer to help you turn around and approach Him once and for all. “Those of you who abide in Me” will live the Life I have given to you to live, “for apart from Me you can do nothing,” without Me, the bread of Life, you will starve to death.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another” John 15:1-17.
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