Lent Day 16 [3.7.2026] The Bread of Life

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval. - John 6:27

Scripture: John 6:16-40

Jesus alone provides eternal satisfaction and sustenance. Remembering His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus declares that anyone who eats the bread and drinks the water of this world will hunger and thirst again, but those who consume the bread of life and drink living water will never be hungry or thirsty again. Jesus looks to the people who had come to find Him and invites them to receive this eternity by receiving the bread and water that God has given them from Heaven: Jesus Christ. Food and water are necessary to survive. We also know the aching and desperation we experience when we are hungry and thirsty. We also know the relief and satisfaction that comes when that hunger is filled and our thirst is quenched. Faith would remind us that we have a greater need than our physical hunger. In fact, our physical hunger and thirst serve as an indicator of our spiritual need. Without spiritual sustenance, providing for our physical needs has no meaning or purpose. Jesus calls us to receive and find our spiritual fill in Him before reaching for our physical needs.

Reflection:

1.          Do we pray to God about our physical needs more than our spiritual ones?

2.          Why should we and how can we pursue God first for our spiritual needs?

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for sustaining me as the bread of life. You laid your life down so that my soul would not starve but be filled with the truth and promise of eternal life. Help me to seek after you as the source of my life and strength. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

제목: 생명의 떡

본문: 요한복음 6:16–40

예수님만이 영원한 만족과 생명의 양식을 주시는 분이십니다. 사마리아 여인과 우물가에서 만났던 장면을 떠올려 보면, 예수님은 이 세상의 떡을 먹고 물을 마시는 사람은 다시 배고프고 목마르게 될 것이라고 말씀하셨습니다. 그러나 생명의 떡을 먹고 생수를 마시는 사람은 다시는 배고프거나 목마르지 않을 것이라고 하셨습니다.

예수님은 자신을 찾으러 온 사람들을 바라보시며 하나님께서 하늘로부터 주신 떡과 물, 곧 예수 그리스도를 받아들여 영원한 생명을 얻으라고 초대하십니다.

음식과 물은 우리가 살아가는 데 반드시 필요합니다. 우리는 배고픔과 목마름이 주는 고통과 절박함을 잘 알고 있습니다. 또한 그 배고픔이 채워지고 갈증이 해소될 때 오는 안도감과 만족도 알고 있습니다. 믿음은 우리에게 육체적인 배고픔보다 더 큰 필요가 있음을 일깨워 줍니다. 사실 우리의 육체적인 배고픔과 목마름은 영적인 필요를 보여주는 신호와 같습니다.

영적인 양식이 없다면 우리의 육체적인 필요를 채우는 일도 참된 의미와 목적을 가질 수 없습니다. 예수님은 우리가 육체적인 필요를 채우기 전에 먼저 그분 안에서 영적인 만족을 찾고 채움을 받으라고 우리를 부르십니다.

묵상 질문

1. 우리는 육체적인 필요보다 영적인 필요를 위해 하나님께 더 많이 기도하고 있습니까?

2. 왜 우리가 먼저 영적인 필요를 위해 하나님을 구해야 하며, 어떻게 그렇게 할 수 있을까요?

기도

사랑하는 하나님, 생명의 떡이 되셔서 저를 살리시고 채워 주심에 감사드립니다. 제 영혼이 굶주리지 않도록 주님의 생명을 내어 주셔서 영원한 생명의 약속으로 채워 주셨습니다. 제 삶의 근원과 힘의 원천이 되시는 주님을 먼저 찾게 하시고, 언제나 주님 안에서 참된 만족을 누리게 하소서. 예수님의 이름으로 기도합니다. 아멘.