Bread, in all its forms, has been a big part of my life these last 60-some years. I remember my mother baking fresh bread -- the yeasty aroma, the warmth, the butter, and all that -- so refusing to imbibe these last six weeks has been tough. It took me back to Jesus' words quoting Deut. 8:3, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord" and also to his words in John 6:51, " I am the living bread that came down from heaven."
The hard part was in not just being irritable, but remembering, every time I was tempted to buy bread, that the reason I was giving it up was to prove I'd rather have Jesus than the bread. The point of remembering at that moment, is to go back to Jesus and say, "Yes, you are more important to me than this" and spend a few moments in prayer or meditation on who Jesus is and what he's done for me.
In fact, that's probably a good exercise for every single day, not just the 40 days of Lent. Maybe there's something in your life that needs to be surrendered, either for awhile or forever, and replaced with a more intimate walk with Jesus. (You probably know what that thing is, the instant you read this, don't you? That would be a good indicator!)
Perhaps you've seen those t-shirts that say "My grandparents went to Florida and all they got me was this lousy t-shirt." Well, we don't want to go all the way through Lent and only come out with some lousy memory of misery from self-denial, do we? How about instead, a more intimate taste of "the bread of life"? I think I'll go meditate on that for awhile.
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