Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.(Mark 6:41)
According to John’s gospel, Jesus is the meal of life. Jesus is quoted as saying, “I am the bread of life. Hew who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) However, it does not guarantee that we will not be hungry and thirsty despite our belief in Jesus. There are many extremely poor people even among Christians.
The key point here is what life signifies when we say Jesus is the meal of life. Early Christians were hungry and lonely in this world like us today. Such problems are not solved immediately though we believe in Jesus. They experience entirely different level of life from Jesus. The core of this difference is the resurrection. Jesus who has risen from the dead was an eternal and real foundation of life.
Life given by God in this world has no eternity in itself. Man has to die sooner or later though he continues to eat. Man cannot get real satisfaction anywhere in this temporal world. Of course, he may be able to attain peace and satisfaction to some certain extent as he acquires knowledge and get sufficient income to sustain his livelihood, but this satisfaction has its limitation and is not eternal. The temporal short-lived comfort and satisfaction is comparable to the enjoyment of a chronic drug addict whose life style cannot be called the right stream of life.
Now we cannot explain in detail exactly what the eternal life was that the early Christians experienced after their conviction of Jesus’ resurrection. Since the reality of our act on earth will be revealed at the end of the world, we have to patiently wait that particular day. Hence, Christian faith involves patient waiting. Our present life is not an end in itself but a gift from God to prepare for the next life.
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