Bread

Along the Pan-American highway in Peru, there is this bread place that pops up seemingly out of nowhere. It has been our traditional stop whenever we make our way up to a beach spot close to two hours from where Mom and Alberto live. When we first stopped there they had only one oven, but business expansion has pushed this up to I think five ovens.You can get the bread with either cheese (con queso) or olives (con aceitunas). I am not a big fan of olives in anything so of course I opt for the one with cheese.





Isn't it interesting how big a part bread has played in the movement and symbolism of God?

1. Part of the worship of Israel and the sacrificial system
2. God's provision to Israel in the desert was manna, a form of bread.
3. Part of the celebration by Israel (Passover, bread without leaven)
4. Temptation of Jesus ("command these stones to become bread")
5. Part of the Lord's prayer ("give us this day our daily bread")
6. Reference to the body of Christ when celebrating Communion ("this is my body broken for you")
7. Symbolizes free gift of God (Isa 55:1)

Then there are the numerous uses of it in figurative language in the bible. “The bread of tears” (Ps. 80:5) and “the bread of sorrows” (Ps. 127:2) refer to food eaten in grief and distress. The “bread of mourners” (Hos. 9:4) is bread eaten at the time of death. The “bread of adversity” symbolizes hardship (Is. 30:20). The virtuous woman does not eat “the bread of idleness” (Prov. 31:27); she is diligent, hard-working, and productive. (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

All points to Jesus as the "bread of life" and the "true bread from heaven" (John 13:26-35). He is an eternal supply of divine sustenance. Just as manna predictably supplied nourishment to Israel, Jesus supplies an endless supply of nourishment for the famished spiritual soul, of which I count as one. Passover and Easter meet in the person of Christ, the bread of life.