Jesus Christ invites us to feed and live (John 6:51-59). He is the living bread that has come down from heaven.
We feed on Christ when we see the Word of God with our eyes. I know of a woman who was an atheist who studied art history. She viewed many religious paintings and in order to research them she read the Word. God converted her to faith. The slaves aboard the Amistad came to America in the 19th century. They could not read, but they looked at the pictures of the life of Christ in a Bible and were converted to faith. God works miracles through the Holy Spirit!
We feed on Christ when we hear his Word with our ears. Faith comes through hearing the Word, not just audibly, but with an open heart that feeds on the Word. The Holy Spirit works through the Word to confront, convict, convert, conform, comfort, enlighten, and empower us.
We feed on the Word when we share it with others. Ephesians 5:18b-21 says, "Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."
We feed on the Word when we receive Holy Communion. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." Yes, together with the bread and wine, we feed on the very body and blood of Christ – a physical and spiritual meal to be received by faith for forgiveness, life and salvation.
John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Feed and live. Amen.
Pastor Raymond Van Buskirk, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Baytown, TX