Refrigerators are very useful inventions–they’re vastly superior to
salting our beef, buying ice in large blocks, and keeping cold cellars
full of semi-perishable food stores. However, there is one serious
downside to the refrigerated box sitting in my kitchen.
Refrigerators
deceive me into thinking that I can store up for my needs for the
future. I am under the illusion that I already have enough resources to
sustain my life, at least for the next few days. The reality is very
different. My existence is continually dependent on the Lord. My every
breath comes from him as does my daily bread. Pulling food that I
purchased a few days ago out of my fridge might subtly induce me to
forget my daily, continual dependance on the Lord. I’m guessing that
the pre-modern cultures were a little more aware of this ongoing need
than I am. They were a little more in touch with the need for daily bread.
This
realized dependance is all the more important because Jesus used bread
as an illustration for his provision of salvation to his people. He
called himself the Bread of Life. And my union with Him is not
something I need occasionally–I can’t put my union with Christ in the
crisper to be pulled out when I want it. Though his Spirit I am
continually relying on my union with him for the existence of my
spiritual life, just as I depend on his sustaining power for my physical
life.
So, the next time we open the fridge door today–let’s take a
moment and declare our joyful trust in our Bread of Life, the one who
provides for all our needs, the one by whom and through whom, and to
whom are all things.
Give us this day, Lord, our daily bread.
