In spite of those miracles, Moses was not able to provide the true bread of heaven, that which my Father is offering to you now.
For the bread of God is embodied in the one who is speaking to you, who has come down from heaven, and offered his own life for the world."
--Jesus
The metaphor of the Bread shows us how utterly good God is in giving Himself to us via the agency of His son. George MacDonald had much to say about this giving of himself. This post is dedicated to seeing Jesus' devotion to the lovely will of His father for the redemption of his brethren through the eyes of George! Enjoy. Be stimulated. Be surprised. Be encouraged.
"You would be astonished to discover what I don't know. But the thing is that I know what is worth knowing. Yet I get not a crumb more than my daily bread by it -- I mean the bread by which the inner man lives. The man who gives himself to making money, will seldom fail of becoming a rich man; and it would be hard if a man who gave himself to find wherewithal to still the deepest cravings of his best self, should not be able to find that bread of life." Thomas Wingfold
"Next, came the perception that my fellow-beings, my brothers and sisters of the same father, must be, next to the father himself, the very atmosphere of life; and that perfect misery must be to care only for one's self. With that there woke in me such a love and pity for my people, my own race, my human beings, my brothers and sisters, whoever could hear the word of the father of me, that I felt the only thing worth giving the energy of life to, was the work that Christ gave himself to -- the delivery of men out of their lonely and mean devotion to themselves, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, whose joy and rejoicing is the rest of the family." Weighed and Wanting.
"Hearing Donal talk about the shepherd of human sheep, Davie felt not only that there once was, but that there is now a man altogether lovely -- the heart of beauty everywhere -- a man who gave himself up to his perfect father and his father's most imperfect children, that he might bring his brothers and sisters home to their father; for all his delight is in his father and his father's children. He showed him how the heart of Jesus was, all through, the heart of a son that adored his perfect father; and how if he had not his perfect son to help him, God could not have made any of us, could never have got us to be his little sons and daughters, loving him with all our might." Donal Grant
"You know, Davie dear, every sin, whatever it is, deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come; and if it had not been that Jesus Christ gave himself to turn away his anger and satisfy his justice by bearing the punishment for us, God would send us all to the place of misery for ever and ever. It is for his sake, not for ours, that he pardons us. She had not ceased when Donal rose in the wrath of love, and came out into the room. 'Lady Arctura,' he said, 'I dare not sit still and hear such false things uttered against the blessed God! Lady Arctura started in dire dismay, but in virtue of her breed and her pride recovered herself immediately, drew herself up, and said--'Mr. Grant, you forget yourself.' 'I'm very willing to do that, my lady,' answered Donal, 'but I must not forget the honor of my God. If you were a heathen woman I might think whether the hour was come for enlightening you further, but to hear one who has had the Bible in her hands from her childhood say such things about the God who made her and sent his Son to save her, without answering a word for him, would be cowardly!...I don't say you don't love Him,' Donal went on;' but how you can love Him and believe such things of Him, I don't understand. Whoever taught them first was a terrible liar against God, who is lovelier than all the imaginations of all his creatures can think.'" Donal Grant
"In the wine and the bread of the Eucharist, He reminds us how utterly He has given, is giving, Himself for the gladness and the strength of the Father's children. Yea, more; for in that he is the radiation of the Father's glory, this bread and wine is the symbol of how utterly the Father gave Himself to His children, how earnestly He would have them partakers of His own being. It was not the power, however, but the glory that Jesus showed forth in the miracle.' MacDonald's Biography
"Like God, of himself he chose righteousness, and so merited to sit on the throne of God. In the same spirit he gave himself afterward to his father's children, and merited the power to transfuse the life-redeeming energy of his Spirit into theirs: made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." The Hope of the Gospel.
Jesus loved His father even to the death of the cross, and eternally beyond it. When we give ourselves up to the Father as the Son gave himself, we shall not only find our yoke easy and our burden light, but that they communicate ease and lightness; not only will they not make us weary, but they will give us rest from all other weariness. Let us not waste a moment in asking how this can be; the only way to know that, is to take the yoke on us." The Hope of the Gospel
"You would be astonished to discover what I don't know. But the thing is that I know what is worth knowing. Yet I get not a crumb more than my daily bread by it -- I mean the bread by which the inner man lives. The man who gives himself to making money, will seldom fail of becoming a rich man; and it would be hard if a man who gave himself to find wherewithal to still the deepest cravings of his best self, should not be able to find that bread of life." Thomas Wingfold
"Next, came the perception that my fellow-beings, my brothers and sisters of the same father, must be, next to the father himself, the very atmosphere of life; and that perfect misery must be to care only for one's self. With that there woke in me such a love and pity for my people, my own race, my human beings, my brothers and sisters, whoever could hear the word of the father of me, that I felt the only thing worth giving the energy of life to, was the work that Christ gave himself to -- the delivery of men out of their lonely and mean devotion to themselves, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, whose joy and rejoicing is the rest of the family." Weighed and Wanting.
"Hearing Donal talk about the shepherd of human sheep, Davie felt not only that there once was, but that there is now a man altogether lovely -- the heart of beauty everywhere -- a man who gave himself up to his perfect father and his father's most imperfect children, that he might bring his brothers and sisters home to their father; for all his delight is in his father and his father's children. He showed him how the heart of Jesus was, all through, the heart of a son that adored his perfect father; and how if he had not his perfect son to help him, God could not have made any of us, could never have got us to be his little sons and daughters, loving him with all our might." Donal Grant
"You know, Davie dear, every sin, whatever it is, deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come; and if it had not been that Jesus Christ gave himself to turn away his anger and satisfy his justice by bearing the punishment for us, God would send us all to the place of misery for ever and ever. It is for his sake, not for ours, that he pardons us. She had not ceased when Donal rose in the wrath of love, and came out into the room. 'Lady Arctura,' he said, 'I dare not sit still and hear such false things uttered against the blessed God! Lady Arctura started in dire dismay, but in virtue of her breed and her pride recovered herself immediately, drew herself up, and said--'Mr. Grant, you forget yourself.' 'I'm very willing to do that, my lady,' answered Donal, 'but I must not forget the honor of my God. If you were a heathen woman I might think whether the hour was come for enlightening you further, but to hear one who has had the Bible in her hands from her childhood say such things about the God who made her and sent his Son to save her, without answering a word for him, would be cowardly!...I don't say you don't love Him,' Donal went on;' but how you can love Him and believe such things of Him, I don't understand. Whoever taught them first was a terrible liar against God, who is lovelier than all the imaginations of all his creatures can think.'" Donal Grant
"In the wine and the bread of the Eucharist, He reminds us how utterly He has given, is giving, Himself for the gladness and the strength of the Father's children. Yea, more; for in that he is the radiation of the Father's glory, this bread and wine is the symbol of how utterly the Father gave Himself to His children, how earnestly He would have them partakers of His own being. It was not the power, however, but the glory that Jesus showed forth in the miracle.' MacDonald's Biography
"Like God, of himself he chose righteousness, and so merited to sit on the throne of God. In the same spirit he gave himself afterward to his father's children, and merited the power to transfuse the life-redeeming energy of his Spirit into theirs: made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." The Hope of the Gospel.
Jesus loved His father even to the death of the cross, and eternally beyond it. When we give ourselves up to the Father as the Son gave himself, we shall not only find our yoke easy and our burden light, but that they communicate ease and lightness; not only will they not make us weary, but they will give us rest from all other weariness. Let us not waste a moment in asking how this can be; the only way to know that, is to take the yoke on us." The Hope of the Gospel
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Comments are welcome. You can post them here or send me an email: clyon2msu@gmail.com. Thanks for reading, hope you are encouraged, blessed, challenged and grow stronger in your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Charlie