Too Tough To Swallow

I wrote the other day of all the wondrous loaves of delicious homemade bread that my wife used to bake early in our marriage.  But as I broke down some of the original intent of what Jesus was saying in John 6:58 this morning, I began to recall some memories of the loaves that she cooked that were not quite so wondrous…

Jesus told the crowd and in particular His disciples that “the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me.” (God’s Word ©)  The phrase “makes a meal” or simply “eateth” in the King James literally means “to gnaw or to chew, through the idea of making a crunching sound.” (Strong’s and Thayer’s)  It was the crunch that got me to laughing this morning.  While my wife’s culinary creations were absolutely wonderful to her young and totally infatuated husband, there were a few times when things didn’t quite turn out as planned!

Once in a while one had to crunch through a pretty hard or burnt crust, or chew heartily on a slice when something went array and the bread dropped, weighed a ton and had the consistency of rubber!  With those memories in mind, I can understand why the disciples remarked to Jesus that “this is a tough teaching, too tough to swallow!” (John 6:60 The Message)

What was interesting was that when you took a bite from one of those aberrations from the normal loaves she baked when they were fresh from the oven, that you could barely discern the difference.  It was when the bread cooled and settled that the unique characteristics of that loaf came out.  Which means that I had a surprise waiting for me when I took my first bite of my delicious looking sandwich at lunch later in the day!  But you know, I loved my wife so much that I gnawed, chewed and crunched through every tough slice anyway… and I was always satisfied when I was (finally) finished!

Jesus’ teaching and the examples of eating those few tough loaves of my wife’s bread got me to thinking about some of Jesus’ words that I have found hard to swallow at different times in my life.  I know that I have shared in many blogs about some of the tough things that were said and done to me over the last few years.  Those experiences were very difficult for me to handle, but in some respects, God’s answers to those times may have even been harder!  It wasn’t easy to swallow His ingredients of love and forgiveness when I just wanted to spit out what had been dished out to me.  I honestly confess, that the whole situation took a lot of tough chewing and at times had the audible sound of crunching as I gnawed through my anger and distrust.

But in the end, it was worth the time I took to chew on and digest His Words… because His way was the right way!  One of the many lessons I’ve learned is of the diligence it takes to chew through and swallow what He asks of us, even when it makes your spiritual jaws a little sore!  The satisfaction you get afterwards is worth all the extended effort.

Have you ever been dealt of slice of bread like that in your life?  My advice would be to seek the Lord’s recipe and to chew heartily until you can swallow His truth.  That’s when you can really experience that personal “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding”  (Philippians 4:7 KJV)  Have a great day.  Enjoy your meals today and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I expecting today?”