I like how John 6:24-35 begins. It reminds me of times in my younger days when I've woken up after a night of partying, wondering where I was and how I got there. Of course those days are far behind me, but the memories - as bad as some of them may be - linger on.
The one thing I learned from those days, however, is that I wasn't partying because I had an addiction to drugs, I partied because I had a longing to be accepted. That which I was searching for in my partying wasn't about being accepted by others as I will be the first to tell you I had good friends. However, the acceptance issues I had was with and about myself. I wanted to be found and understood by me.
I felt like one of the crowd mentioned in today's passage; lost, searching, following, questioning, and when the way to healing was explained to me I thought it couldn't be that easy so I kept searching. Of course, in retrospect it was that easy. Jesus tells us in today's passage he is the "bread of life" and that if we live with him in our lives we will "never be hungry".
Those days of searching for myself in my youth was about me being hungry all the time. I was hungry for a love that I thought was supposed to come from those around me. What I now understand is that the love I was searching for was a love for and from myself. Jesus has helped me find this love, and it's because of him I now live a life filled with peace; a peace that can only come from accepting the unconditional acceptance of me, those around me, and my God.
If you're reading this and still feel that hunger and hope for love, peace, and joy I say to begin with you. Find that love for yourself first, let Jesus help you find it, and when you can completely accept you for who you are then the rest will begin to make sense and fall into place. Jesus is with you on this journey and always walks by your side. You really don't have to get in a boat to the other side of the lake to find him.
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