Our Daily Bread...

"Give us today our daily bread." -Matthew 6:11

"A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it"- Cool Runnings

This is Part 2 of this little walk through the Lord's Prayer.

Let me first say that I'm not a huge bread guy. Sure, I love a good peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat or a great french toast and I do love a nice loaf of sourdough. But couldn't God have given us something with a little more toast? Like, "Give us today our daily burrito, or our daily milkshake?" Why settle for bread if that's what we're going to ask for?

Obviously, that's not the point, just a disclaimer. The point is slightly more profound. And the question becomes, what does it mean to ask for our daily bread? I've got an idea.

When the Israelites first began to wander in the desert after God PARTED A SEA and ALLOWED THEM TO ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY they began to bicker. They complained?! Here they were free, and they were complaining and actually saying they would prefer death in Egypt to where they were! "At least we had food there," they called out. So God said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day." Sound familiar?

Jesus was Jewish. He would've known this story since the time he was a boy. And it seems to me there's a little overlap. When the Israelites went out and gathered the bread God placed for them in the morning, they all had just enough for every person in their tent. Then there was a little stipulation. They weren't supposed to save it! They had to trust that God would provide what they needed again the next day, and the next. I'm sorry, but I might've tried to save just a little. I mean, what happens if God forgets or something?

But God didn't forget. He provided each day their daily bread. He sustained them. He hasn't stopped yet.

Money has never been a big temptation for me in my life, for which I am eternally grateful. But please don't misunderstand, money is not a bad thing! It is an incredible blessing for us. It can be used for incredible and wonderful things! But it will NEVER provide infinite security or comfort. There will never be enough. And let's face it, money can go just as fast as it can come.

I think that's why Jesus says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Stuff has limits. Stuff can only bring so much joy. It's finite. When we store it up, what need is there for faith? If our stuff can satisfy all of our needs, there doesn't seem to be much need for a God who can provide daily bread.

But God doesn't stop providing. He never leaves us lacking. He never stops satisfying our needs. He will never fail us nor forsake us. That's what Jesus' prayer calls us to remember: that it's not about what we have, but remembering there's a God who provided it and at the end of the day, if we're not satisfied with him, we'll never be satisfied with what He gives...

forever unfinished...