Picky eaters and Jesus

Jesus, help me try to eat more foods -- especially the "bread from heaven!" Amen.

"I am the living bread from heaven," Jesus told a crowd. "Whoever eats this bread will live forever. Just as my father sent me and gave me life, anyone who feeds on me will live."

Are you a picky eater? A lot of adults will groan when they hear that you won't eat meatloaf, broccoli or anything sour, that you only like ketchup on your hot dogs, and that pizza has to be plain -- no pepperoni, mushrooms or sausage -- for you to eat it.

On the other hand, Jesus might not mind your picky eating habits; He expected people to choose only the food that was best for them. But, the food He talks about in this week's Gospel (John 6:51-58) isn't meatloaf or broccoli!

A lot of kids don't like foods that seem strange to them. They think broccoli feels funny in their mouths, that pepperoni is too spicy or that meatloaf is just gross.

Jesus understood that people can sometimes be choosy about what they'll eat. That might be why He described Himself as the "bread from heaven." He wanted people to understand that choosing to follow Him was like choosing the best food ever: If they tried it, they were guaranteed to like it.

Eating food keeps your body nourished, and that keeps you alive. Receiving Jesus -- by going to communion, and by listening to and doing what He taught -- does more for you than that.

Jesus promised that anyone who receives His body (and the things He taught by staying close to God, praying and trying to be good) will live forever in heaven.

Hot dogs and pizza can help to keep your body alive only for as long as most people live, but the "bread from heaven" will help you live with God forever!