Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures eternally.
“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” John 6:27
This is very reminiscent of Deuteronomy 8:3, which Jesus quoted at His temptation in the wilderness after His baptism: “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” This is in the context of Jesus calling Himself the Bread of Life and chastising people for following Him because He fed the multitudes rather than because they recognized who He was.
It seems that people are in the habit of confusing mere physical survival with the abundant life which God intends for us. The former is temporal. The latter is eternal. The former is a pale shadow of the glorious reality of the latter. Let us never be distracted from pursuing the abundant life the Lord promised by concern for meeting temporal needs. That is a mistake of infinite proportions.
