The Grace That Comes to You
Apr 15, 2014 2170
In Exodus 16:14–22, we read the story of how God sent manna to feed his people in the wilderness. This was bread from heaven (v.15), and it represented the grace of Jesus, the One who would come and be the true Bread from Heaven John 6:41.
Manna was sweet. You may have experienced much bitterness in your life. You may be going through it now, but Jesus gives you his grace. He gives you sweetness even in the midst of bitterness. That’s what grace is all about. The gift of manna to the children of Israel has many important lessons for us today.
First, they needed to collect the manna every day (with an exception on the Sabbath). It was no good trying to hoard it – it just went bad. Manna was the great leveler. If you didn’t collect it every day you went hungry. Everyone had to do it every day. Every day you need to receive the grace of God. It’s no good saying that you gave your life to Christ once, and that now you don’t need as much grace as the next person. You need the grace of Jesus every day.
Second, manna was free. No one had to work for it. No one had to go looking for it – it was just there at your doorstep. All you had to do was to go and pick it up and look up to heaven and say, “Thanks!” That’s how grace comes to you today through Jesus Christ. He was the ultimate gift from heaven. You can’t work for the gift of Christ. And you can spend all your life looking for it in other places, without realizing that He was there all along for you.
Third, the manna was enough. Everyone received the same amount, and it was always enough. Whatever may be your story as you go through your wilderness, when you look back you will see that the grace of God was always enough. It was enough to get you through.
These three lessons were so important that they became a test for the people of Israel. How would they respond to the grace of Christ? Because God told them that there would be no manna on the seventh day, but instead the manna from the Friday would be enough.
Would they go out and try to struggle to find it in places where it was not to be found? Some did. Some still do the same today. There are tragic consequences when you try to find the Bread of Heaven in your own time and in your own way. It doesn’t work that way.
The gift of the Bread of Life is every day, free, and always enough. It’s what gives us true life. I need it today – you do too.
Eliezer Gonzalez
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