While reading the Gospel of John, I came across something that struck me as very important for a Christian to know. This happened in John chapter 6 where Jesus is having a conversation with the Jews after his miracle of feeding the five thousand. The Jews were so pleased by this food miracle that they followed Jesus. Jesus’ response to them following him was this, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 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. For on him God the Father has set his seal” John 6:26-27.
This story in chapter 6 reminds me of some people today who follow Jesus. Folks will come to church because they have a problem. Perhaps they are hungry, or they need a job, or their marriage is in trouble. Maybe they’ve just been diagnosed with cancer or some other bad disease and they turn to God for help or healing. But once the storm passes, they don’t need Jesus anymore so they go on their way no longer pursuing the Savior. These people make me sad, but not nearly as sad as those who stay in church because they continue to want only earthly food from Jesus. I call these people “manna Christians.”
Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” John 47-51.
Jesus’ point here is this: the people in chapter 6 of John were God’s people. They knew God’s rules and went to church. They even accepted Jesus once he did the miracles for them. Today we would say they were “good Christians,” yet, many of these people did not really believe. They didn’t get the “bread of life” concept because the “manna of God” was enough for them. Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe” John 6:61-64.
Unfortunately, I see this same unbelief in church today. We live in a Christian nation where over sixty percent of the American population says they have had a “born again” experience. Many people I know go to church and call themselves good Christians. Yet over and over I run into manna followers instead of bread of life followers. Manna followers are the people who come to church to be fed by Jesus for earthly reasons. Bread of life followers are the ones who eat Jesus’ flesh and blood because they want life in the spirit. Bread of life followers have an eternal view that rules them. Manna followers are driven by their earthly wants and needs.
Only the Holy Spirit can illuminate for us whether we are a manna Christian or a bread of life Christian. Jesus says that those who eat the manna will still die. Only the bread of life brings salvation. The sad fact of the matter is this: many churches today settle for manna Christians.
At the end of chapter 6, Jesus says, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” John 6:65.
The best way I know to figure out what kind of Christian you are is to take the “how I became a Christian” test. Did you decide to be a Christian by yourself or did Jesus save you? If you don’t know with your whole heart that Jesus saved you, that God made you a Christian, then I would say you are a manna Christian. A bread of life Christian knows they’ve been born from above and the things of Jesus are what matter most.
Now if you are a manna Christian, take heart. Many of us start out as manna Christians who somewhere along the line, swallow the bread of life.
Pray that Jesus will feed you the bread of life. That the things of God will become more important to you than the things of this world. That you will fall in love with Jesus and truly live.