The Bread of Life

After Jesus performed the amazing miracle of feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish, He withdrew from them to find a quiet place to be alone. Later that evening, the disciples got into their boat and headed across the lake to Capernaum. Before they knew it, a strong storm came upon them with no warning. They were so terrified of drowning, that when they saw Christ coming towards them, walking on the water, they freaked out! Christ assures them that it was indeed Him and to not be afraid. They arrived at their destination safe and sound.
When the rest of the crowd arrives in Capernaum, they ask Christ when He arrived. Now mind you, they had seen one boat leave from the other side of the lake, but Christ was not in it. When they realized none of the disciples nor Christ was on their side of the lake, the people got into their boats, crossed the lake, in order search of Christ and His disciples.
Once they arrive, they see Jesus and ask when He arrived in Capernaum. Now this might not seem like a big deal, but think about it. They ask Him WHEN, not HOW. Wouldn't you want to know how He had gotten to the other side of the lake without getting into a boat? I suppose He could have walked around the lake on the shore, but the distance would have taken more than just an evening.
Jesus accuses the people of not looking for Him because of the miraculous sign He just showed them with the fish and loaves of bread, but because of the fact that they were hungry for more fish and bread! They figured once they found Christ, He would feed them their breakfast, just like he did their evening meal the night prior.
Christ then tells them, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
The people then question Him by asking what type of work needs to be done? I can see this picture in my mind. A group of people being told they needed to work for their food. What? Work for our food? Seriously?
So, they ask Him what is the work God requires, to which Christ replies, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent." In other words, Jesus tells them to believe in Him.
Being told to believe isn't what the people wanted. Do you know what they asked for in order to believe? A MIRACULOUS SIGN! They just saw one the night before and now they're asking for another! Ridiculous? Perhaps...
They go on to say that Moses provided them with manna in the desert, so why won't Christ give them their breakfast now? Jesus has an answer for this, too. He says (I'm paraphrasing, but you can look it up in John 6 of the New Testament), Moses didn't give you the manna. God sent it from heaven...." For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world..... I am the bread of life..."
The crowd begins to grumble, first because they are hungry and second because Christ just claims to have come down from heaven. They knew his father Joseph and his mother Mary, so how can He make such a claim?!
Jesus goes on to tell the crowd that only through Him, will they have eternal life. He is the One who gives life to those who believe. He is this bread, not in a physical sense, but in a spiritual one. The crowd didn't get it. They were too focused on their stomachs to understand that unless they come to Christ to get their fill of the Bread of Life, they will die and not receive the gift of eternal life He was offering them.
How many times do we miss the mark on a specific point someone is making? It goes right over our heads, because we only listen with our heads and not our hearts. Sometimes we need to open our spiritual eyes in order to see what it is God is trying to teach us. We need to stop focusing on our physical hunger and start realizing we also have a spiritual hunger that can only be satisfied by the Bread of Life.