Mannarama

Today’s Reading: John 6:33 (NIV)

[Jesus said,] “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Memory Verse: 1 How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (Psalm 84:1-2 NIV)

Good day!

When our family traveled through Colorado together several years ago, we would pull the caravan over and stop to take pictures of the breathtaking countryside. Every woman in the Spaulding clan is a certifiable scrapaholic and habitual shutter bug. We took photos of the baby-blue sky, snow-peaked mountain tops, and flaming fields of golden Aspen trees, shimmering in the sunlit breeze. I have a hard time comprehending that heaven could be more any more beautiful than this.

It is that panoramic view that intrigues me as I’m photographing landscapes. Our camera lenses capture a particular vantage of a certain area when we open the shutter and snap the picture. When we look with our eyes, the unbroken view of the surrounding area simply surrounds us and we are drawn into its intrinsic beauty. It is like the imaginary experience of jumping right into the middle of a beautiful piece of painted art. We are part of a continual, unending scene, celebrated through the eyes of the enamored beholder. We become part of the picture.

The disciples were looking for a panoramic miracle from the Master. They retold the great miracle of how manna fell from the heavens and fed their forefathers in their wilderness wandering. Jesus reminded them that it was not Moses who gave them manna, but the Father who gives true bread from heaven. It is that bread that gives life to all the world. Just like our limited snapshots, the disciples had captured only a little piece of the bigger picture inside their hearts. Jesus spoke of God’s great mannarama – the endless bread of heaven that gives new life to all the world.

In our cozy log cabin, late at night, the Spaulding shutterbugs would gather around the table by the warm light emitting from the large, stone fireplace. Spreading our individual photographs out together, we were able to catch a glimpse of the bigger picture. Jesus calls us today to move beyond the boundaries and limitations we have imposed upon ourselves and begin to experience His mannarama. Jesus offered His very life up so that we might receive the bread of heaven. On this Ash Wednesday, may the Father give you a greater vision, so that you may embrace the intrinsic beauty of His mannaramic view.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

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© Copyright 2008, Deb Spaulding

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