The church was packed. People even stood by the wall because there weren’t enough chairs. One by one, they impatiently looked at their watches as the sermon carried on.   

I wish I could say that they’d all come to hear the Good News; that they’d come to find the truth that could be found only in Jesus.  

But in reality, they’d heard that the church was giving out two free loaves of bread after the service. And so they came, Sunday after Sunday, for the entire month that our church was giving out bread. 

And that’s it. Once we stopped giving it out, they stopped coming.

Oddly familiar, the scenario. More than 2,000 years ago, something similar happened in Israel. Jesus fed more than 5,000 people and they flocked after Him, hoping to receive more. But He saw it in their eyes and read it in their hearts; and told them what they already knew: 

“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill…” John 6:26 

And Jesus went on to tell them that what they needed most was not food for their stomachs, but something much greater. Bread that, once consumed, would transform their lives and forever satisfy their spiritual appetite. 

“I am the Bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst…” John 6:35 

The Bread of life came down from heaven and stood before the crowds, offering eternal life and internal happiness to all who would believe and receive. Yet even then, many turned away. Their eyes were astonished and their stomachs were full; but the truth was too difficult for them to perceive.  

Yet Jesus went on healing, teaching and sharing truth; with those who accepted and those who rejected. 

So thousands of years later, we continue preaching and teaching and handing out food for stomachs and souls; because we know that even on the Sundays when we’re discouraged by the small amount of people who come to church; salvation is of the Lord.