“Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” (John 6:27)
From time to time we will do a “check the expiration date” on items in the pantry. Occasionally we will find a can, bottle, package hiding in a corner or under other containers that has an expiration date from the dim and distant past. This food item is no longer good; it has expired.
However, all of the food items have expiration dates. It may be a date in the future, but at some point all these items will expire. None of them will last forever.
Jesus tells us, if I may paraphrase a bit, don’t work for food that will expire. He wasn’t speaking of physical food but of spiritual food. We need to check what we feed our spirits to see if it has an expiration date. All the things of the earth will expire. The day is coming when all that is of the earth will be consumed by fire, and a new heaven and new earth will be born. If we seek the things of the earth, if we seek to be nourished by the values and philosophies of man, we will starve. All of these things are doomed to perish. We don’t want to stand before Christ having spent our lives feasting on the things of the world and having avoided the food that Christ provides.
Not only can we be so foolish as to desire the food that perishes, we can also spend much of our time, energy, and hearts pursing these things, laboring for the food which perishes.
No, what we want is the spiritual food that endures to eternal life. This is the food that only Christ can give us. This food will nourish our soul. This food will give us spiritual strength. This food never expires but lasts through all eternity. We feed on God’s word. We are fed by the Holy Spirit. We feast on Christ whose body and blood were offered up on our behalf. Labor for the food which endures to eternal life. This is the food that Christ gives. Amen.
Pastor Haney
