Filling up on the bread of life

Gospel JN 6:30-35

The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”

So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.” 
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

We think of food and water as basic necessities for life.  If we take Jesus at His word, He is a basic necessity for our spiritual life.  We are to think of  Jesus as the "bread of God" coming down from heaven, giving life to the world.  The food analagy works for me especially - since I've been known to obsess about food.  It's easy for me to overindulge on sweets - if it's processed and is loaded with sugar, I'm all over it.  I just had a chocolate chip muffin and a brownie with my coffee this morning!  And let's not talk about ice cream.  While I can temporarily satisfy my hunger with sweets, too much of a good thing works against me - later on my energy wanes as I come crashing down from a sugar high.  Worldly attachments are like a quick sugar fix - they satisfy temporarily but ultimately are unfulfilling.  Jesus is the real "bread of life."  When I follow Him, I can let go of the temptations and cravings of this world and fill my soul with God's abundant love.