Shelf-Life

"Jesus answered them and said, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 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 6:26-27

There's a a number of well-known urban legend surrounding Twinkies - everything from them having a shelf-life of a hundred years to the only thing besides cockroaches that will survive a nuclear apocalypse. Unfortunately, all those legends are false (despite my hope that they were - I mean really, who doesn't like Twinkies?).

And while the Twinkie was still 1900 years away, Jesus is telling us that there is no food that lasts forever - and that our focus shouldn't be on things that go away, but rather the one thing that will lead to eternal life.

No doubt it's a hard thing to understand - and even harder to live. We like our things - our nice cars, our new clothes, good food and fun things to do. And Jesus isn't saying that having those things are strictly forbidden. But what he is saying is more of a reminder - that all of those things have everything to do with a life that perishes - a life that has a definitive end. And that we should be more concerned with what we're doing for our eternal life - our life with God and Jesus in Heaven, rather than focusing on today's pleasures.

It's a lesson we hear over and over - and we often equate it to being generous, giving what we have to help others, giving our time to those less fortunate. And I'm not going to say that all those things aren't important (we know from other reading just how important they are). But we also need to remember that we need to nourish our spiritual lives through prayer as much as we do through the giving of our time, talent and treasure. That reading the Word, talking to God and working to understand Him at deeper and deeper levels is what builds that life. It's as much through our actions, as it is through understanding and commitment to God, that leads us to that everlasting life.

With that said, I hope there are Twinkies in Heaven.