Not By Bread Alone

"Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

I love this verse, because it's literal and spiritual all at the same time. First of all, Jesus is telling us a truth here- man doesn't live by bread alone. We don't simply eat bread, if we just ate bread we would be missing all kinds of vital nutrients and vitamins that we need to live. If we chose a diet based solely on bread, it wouldn't take long before our body started having problems from the deficiencies.

In the same way that we need a varied diet to keep our bodies going, we also need God's Word to keep us going. We can think of a new Christian in this. A brand-new Christian usually has their eyes wide open- God is fascinating to them, and they can't wait to read their Bible every day. They love going to church and they're exuberant about sharing their faith- and telling everyone they know that they've found Jesus. It's because giving your heart to Jesus fills you with something you've never had before. It fills you with love, peace, knowledge and understanding that you're going to spend eternity in Heaven, and your spirit finds a fullness it's never known before.

And then we become a "seasoned" Christian. We've been saved for awhile, and we know what the Bible says. We still go to church, but we tend to make more excuses for why we don't go. We set the Bible aside for other things, and though we are still saved, we begin to feel like something is missing. And that is our daily infusion of God. Just as our bodies need to be filled with fuel in the form of food, our spirits need to be filled in the form of scripture.

Using the same parallel, you also usually know your body. I know that I, at least, can tell when I need to be eating more iron-rich foods, or when I need to eat a banana for it's rich muscle-enhancing potassium. I know when I've eaten too many sweets, too much coffee, or not enough vegetables. I can also pay attention to my spirit. When I'm feeling down and listless, and maybe I'm feeling like there's something missing, that's when I know that I need to dig back into God's Word. I always feel better in my spirit when I am digging into the Bible daily.

Man does not live by bread alone... so why do we try?