Jesus Filled Up the Breadbox for Us (Thursday, Week 2 of Advent 2011)

What Did Jesus Do?

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and laid him in a manger.
Luke 2.7

Bread is just about as basic and essential a food as you can find. Think about it. When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray he instructed them to ask the Father for daily bread. Not milk, or wine, or even water. Not fruit, or nuts, or vegetables. Not cheese, or fish, or meat. Daily bread. When the breadbox is empty we have a real problem. And what are we supposed to do when we have a problem? Bring it to the Father in prayer. In response to prayers from those who hungered, hungered for food, for justice, for righteousness, for peace, and for just about every human need we can think of, the Father sent the Son, Jesus, to fill up the “breadbox” for us. Literally.

You see, that’s what a manger is, a breadbox shared by all who come to it to feed. And that’s just what Jesus came to do, to feed the world, or at least feed all who believe and who come to him. Jesus was, and is, the Bread of Life. (See John 6:35-40) And where else would we go to look for bread but the breadbox? It may not have been a very likely place to expect to find a newborn king, but it was the only fitting place for the One who promised that whoever came to him would never be hungry, and whoever believed in him would never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

If we had a map of ancient Israel in front of us, where is the one place we would be confident to find a full manger? Why, Bethlehem, of course! You see, Bethlehem is from the Hebrew beth lehem, which mean “house of bread.” The manger that held the Bread of Life which would feed not only Israel, but the world, had to be found in beth lehem, the “house of bread.” For the manger to have been located anywhere else not only would not have made any sense, it would not have fulfilled the prophecy about the One who filled up the breadbox. (Micah 5:2)

For most people Christmastime involves a lot of hurrying around. So many places we have to be, so much we have to do. For many of us, several of our destinations will likely involve gobbling down more rich food and drink than is good for us, certainly more than our body needs. Here’s the thing, we could all pack on quite a few holiday pounds by the end of December, and yet end up hungrier than when we tasted our first bite of Christmastime fare. If all our packed Christmas itineraries omit a visit to Bethlehem, the “house of bread,” and a trip to the manger, the breadbox filled with the Bread of Life, we can’t help but be malnourished, no matter how much other food we eat.

So, this Second Week of Advent, while there’s still time before Christmas, why don’t we all make plans to get ourselves, and our families and friends, to the manger, there to greet and to worship the Son, Jesus, whom the Father sent to fill up the breadbox for us.



S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4