Whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. And this bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.John 6: 47-51
Jesus came into the world to connect us with God. So great is God's love that he wishes to be intimately present to us as we journey through this life, and for all eternity.
The deepest problem of much of the modern world is that it is not connected. Some will object that we have never been better connected than we are today. We have instant access to world events through television. We can find almost anything on the Web. We can connect with almost anyone through e-mail or the ubiquitous cell phone. But these are not real connections. They are substitutes for real presence.
We live in a world that is losing a sense of community. We can tune in and dial up, but many cannot connect with a single person who genuinely cares about them. We have instant access to everything except real love. All the emoticons on the Internet cannot express the warmth of a real smile. None of our connections can take the place of a kind spoken word, the reassuring touch of a hand, an embrace, real tears.
Jesus came into the world to show us that the only way to find happiness is to get connected with God. To make this connection we must first disconnect from everything else. We must turn everything off and enter into silence. There we must pray, and wait for God. In the silence he will come into our life and touch us with his love.
From this connection we will begin to see God in our daily life - in prayer, in listening to his word, in gathering in his name for the breaking of bread, in others we meet on the journey of faith. The God we meet is really present to us. We have a real connection with him. If we wish to be happy, we must accept no substitutes for the real thing.
Lord Jesus, I turn aside from the cares of my daily life to seek you in a quiet place in my heart. I long to see your face, to be reassured by the touch of your hand, and to hear you speak words of tender love. Be with me always, and guide me on my journey of faith, that I may one day rest with you in the eternal peace of heaven.