John 6:47-51 “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

People who have money live longer, statistically speaking. In the United States, the richest men will outlive the poorest men by 15 years. They eat better food. They get better medicine. They live healthier lives. They live longer. But they don’t live forever. You know that the day is coming, no matter how much money you have, when the doctor can’t put you back together and keep you going, no matter how much you pay him.

The nation of Israel ate manna from heaven in the wilderness every day for forty years. They weren’t malnourished. They ate, perhaps, better than any people in the history of the world. But they all died, every last one of them.

In my ministry as a missionary pastor in a “start-up” congregation, I have made a number of outreach calls at homes where I have heard the rather jarring words. “We don’t go to church. We aren’t religious. We are atheists. We aren’t interested.” These are very nice homes, worth at least twice as much as my own. Luxury cars sit in the driveway. Swimming pools sit in the backyard. It’s a good life, apparently.

But this is the closest thing to heaven any of them are ever going to know. And it is all going to last only a few more years. Then they are going to die, just like me, and for them there is no better life to follow.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” people often say. But that isn’t always the case, is it. Doting parents are shown undeniable evidence of their favorite son’s wrongdoing, but they just can’t believe it. “He’s such a good boy, you know.” The doctor confronts a patient with test result after test result that says the mysterious lump is cancer. But the patient wants another test, and another opinion. He can’t believe that he is so sick, so close to facing his own mortality.

The people to whom Jesus was speaking in John 6 had every reason to let down their guard, their resistance, and trust him. We still do. So few ever do, and those who do still struggle with their doubts that Jesus is their Maker come to redeem them.

We are here as Jesus’ Church to confront their refusal to believe. It stands in the way of everlasting life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” Jesus says. “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Jesus gave his life to save ours. This gift is worth everything, but it doesn’t cost a penny. It is free for the believing. It does what no supplements, no diet, no doctor or medicine could ever do. It gives us life forever.