No Added Preservatives

So much of what we consume today is full of preservatives. These preservatives are added to food and drink to help prevent spoilage during storage, distribution, retailing, and consumption. In general, to extend shelf life. You are familiar with some of the worst additives: trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate (MSG), BHA, BHT, sodium nitrate and nitrites. Another not so good additive is Red Dye No. 3, which was banned by the FDA from use in cosmetics in 1990 due to data showing high doses caused cancer in animals, but to this day is still allowed in food. Hmm?

Studies have shown that there are more than thousands of chemicals, some of which are associated with major health harms, allowed to be added to the foods we eat. These chemicals are allowed because of an apparent loophole in the system for additives classified as “generally recognized as safe.” Under FDA guidelines, the agency does not need to preapprove any substance added to food that has “been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise exempted from definitive of a food additive.”       

Like most foods we eat, bread also contains preservatives to prolong its shelf life and to prevent spoilage. Some common bread additives are citric acid, potassium sorbate, and sorbic acid. Even with all that is added to bread, it still eventually gets moldy or hard, becoming inedible. There is another kind of bread that requires no preservatives, needs no additives, and is always fresh and delicious. That bread – the bread of God!

As the Israelites wandered in the desert, a place without food or water, God sustained them with manna, a bread-like substance tasting like honey, that fell from heaven – “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day’” (Exodus 6:34a).

Now fast forward approximately 1,500 years. You probably know the miracle of Jesus feeding the multitudes with five small barley loaves and two tiny fish (John 6:1-14). This, along with his earlier healing miracles (6:2) created quite a stir, and the next day, large crowds come looking for Jesus in Capernaum (6:22-24). The people come looking for Jesus were seeking free food. He rebukes them by drawing a clear distinction between material bread and spiritual bread, first, by pointing out that is was God, not Moses who provided the manna, and secondly, that manna was simply physical bread whereas the bread from heaven is something much different (6:25-31).

Jesus then makes the bold claims that he is that bread, which gives eternal sustenance, eternal life. Here is what we read – “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world’” (John 6:32-33).

It seems that even still, they want something physical rather than eternal – “’Sir, they said, always give us this bread ‘” (6:34). And it is here that Jesus makes his first of seven I AM statements found in John’s gospel – “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and who believes in me will never go thirsty” (6:35). It is here that Jesus explicitly declares himself to be the One sent by God, the One and only who gives eternal life, the One who offers this bread of life

And this bread, this life-sustaining bread, never goes stale, never expires. It is new every single day – “Because of the LORD’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

So, you see, the bread of God doesn’t have or need any added preservatives. It is fresh every day! Let it be all you need today and every day.

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