Our Daily Bread

I

n 1983, I had the opportunity to live and study in the south of France.  My college had a year abroad program and twenty-five of us spent our junior year in Europe.  That year was a very interesting time to be overseas.  In September, 1983, Korean Airlines flight 007 was shot down and the United States sent cruise missiles to Europe. In 1984, President Andropov of the former Soviet Union died, and the United States invaded the island of Grenada.  Every letter and phone conversation home found me asking questions about what was going on in the news.  French newspapers carried the stories but their points of view did not reflect those of the United States.

All during that year, my friend, Charlie received the Sunday edition of the Washington Post.  It was delivered during the week and we fought over the different sections of the paper.  We all visited Charlie on a regular basis, especially when the paper was due.  Some of us wanted the sports news, some of us were interested in the editorials, but all of us were interested in the headlines and top stories.  The paper was so large that we could easily take a week to read it.  The problem was that we couldn't stay current with all the events happening at home.  All we had to rely on was Sunday's paper.

This scenario strikes a shocking parallel to the way most Christians live their lives.  They attend church on Sunday, listen to the pastor, open their Bibles and follow along as the text is read.  After the service, they put their Bibles back on the shelf and wait until the next Sunday to take them down, dust them off, and return to church. The sermon rapidly becomes old news and they can't remember from one Sunday to the next what the pastor preached.  The quality of their walk with God is diminished because they don't keep current with the "news from home."  Without reading God's word on a daily basis, it is impossible to know what he has to say concerning the Christian life.

The children of Israel learned first-hand what it meant to rely on God for daily provision.  In the Exodus from Egypt, God provided bread for them on a daily basis.  The manna fell each morning and they were to go out and gather what they needed for that day.  God's instructions concerning the manna are recorded in Exodus 16:4: "Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. The people can go out each day and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether they will follow my instructions."  God's provision came fresh every morning, however, the people had to go out and gather it for themselves.

As we start each day, God provides direction and instruction for us.  We have his written word, something the Israelites did not have.  God's word provides all we need to enjoy a relationship with him and all the instructions necessary to live the Christian life to the fullest.  However, it is up to us to read it every day.  God has provided the bread, but we must gather it.  If we refuse to read his word daily, our lives become stagnant and seriously malnourished.  Daily bread is essential if we are to maintain our strength and to stay in constant communion with God.

In France, although we enjoyed the Sunday Washington Post, it never really satisfied us because the news was old, stale, and useless to us.  In the same way, opening God's word only on Sundays does not provide the nourishment our souls need in order to grow strong in the Lord.  Today, as you prepare meals in order to feed your body open God's word and feed your soul.  Do this on a daily basis and draw from God's inexhaustible provision which is new every morning.  The Israelites ate manna for forty years and it was fresh each day.  Fresh bread for your soul is as close to you as the cover of your Bible.  Have you gathered your daily bread today?