Some Words Enter Our Soul Like The Fragrance Of Freshly Baked Bread

by Eric Elkin

“Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ”

— John 6:35

I have become mildly obsessed with the HBO series The Last of Us. This obsession has caused a crisis within my soul. I’m only watching the show because I folded to the pressures of others. Despite knowing I did not like the subject matter, I gave in to the words of others who spoke so highly about it. The second level of the crisis is that it plays on all my deepest fears. Now I feel those fears in real-time.

If you have not watched the show, humanity becomes vulnerable to an aggressive fungus that turns infected people into zombie-like beings. The initial wave of the infection wipes out a large portion of the population. We, as viewers, watch a hardened survivor struggle to bring a child immune to the fungus to a place where doctors can create a cure.

I am strong enough to admit that I am afraid of being alone. This is not a fear of having time away from others, nor a fear of being single. It is a fear of being the only one left behind to fight an army of zombies. We need others to provide security. How do you rest when that is all taken away?

The show is not realistic. Our “hero” has a flashlight. After twenty years of a depleted workforce, how will you have batteries for a flashlight? Even the ones on the shelf will expire. The duo walks through the Montana wilderness, and we don’t see one animal. Don’t you think grizzly bears and cougars will make a comeback without a human presence? See modern-day Chornobyl if you doubt me.

“Faith isn’t about having everything figured out ahead of time; faith is about following the quiet voice of God without having everything figured out ahead of time.”

— Rachel Held Evans

Since I started watching the show, I scrutinize every simple activity I do; what if no one was here to help? If 75% of humanity disappeared, where would I get gas for my car? Where would I get bread? Where would I get ammo for the gun I need for hunting and protection? Supplies would be left behind in stores. But after twenty years, they would disappear or expire.

This is why I wanted to avoid watching the show in the first place. I knew it would play on all my deepest fears. And it has truly impacted my everyday life in ways I did not want it to. But here I am, watching it all the same, too far along in the storyline to walk away. Now I am mad at myself for having the backbone of a jellyfish.

I needed this reading today., even if I was not watching The Last of Us. The news of the world around me can make things feel so overwhelming and hopeless. The words of Jesus break through my sense of nihilism with tender words of hope. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”

The words are a comfort to me. They enter my soul like the sweet fragrance of freshly baked bread. I can feel the warm bread in my hands. The words are more than comfort; they are tender and remind me I could never be alone or without hope. This right here is why I worship, to hear the words I need to hear for life.

Click to read John 6:35-40