Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Bread
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
My four children are very fond of stories and riddles, and frequently ask me to bring forth fresh ones for their entertainment. One day I told them this one. A baby was born in New York just a few months ago, and it weighed about 50 pounds at birth. They fed it ten gallons of milk every day, and in a few months it weighed about 100 pounds. There was a moment of silence, and then Mr. Nine–year–old replied, ‘Why, daddy, that can’t be so! We weighed less than ten pounds when we were born, and here our son is over eleven and he doesn’t yet weigh 100 pounds.’ After discussion and the display of much incredulity they at last asked for the explanation, so I replied that the baby was born at the Zoo, and that it was a baby elephant! Then I said to them: “Suppose that the keeper at the Zoo was making his rounds with the food one morning, and found the ten gallons of milk heavy to carry.
Suppose that he said, ‘I will give these ten gallons of milk to these little birds in this nest in the bird house and take these worms down to the elephant.’ What would happen? Why, of course, the birdlings would drown and the elephant would starve!” We understand that every member of the animal kingdom must have its own particular nourishment, without which it cannot live.
Then we can draw this analogy. We have a new nature which is the life of Christ, and we have an old nature which is the life of sin within us. Saul and Paul dwell together in the same body of the Christian. Saul has a voracious appetite, and the whole organization of the civilization of this world is keyed to the feeding of this old nature, the whole of life round about us is food for the old nature. On this food the old nature waxes fat and flourishing, and the only cure is to bring it to be crucified. There is but one food for the new nature, the Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. O Christians, why will you starve your spirits till you have no strength to resist the enemy when he comes against you! He, the devil, will never flee except before the Word of God... here is the place of victory.
