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"REAL BREAD"Topics: Evangelism, Imitation, Jesus
Years ago, in a far-away land, a young man began to announce the
availability of a new kind of bread. Consumers were skeptical at first,
but some of them took it and found that it tasted far better than any
of the other kinds on the market - and really satisfied their hunger.
They were happier in themselves, and really admired the young man who
was willingly giving this Bread away to anyone who wanted it - refusing
to charge! This bothered some of the rich people, but the poor folk
loved it. But the other bread manufacturers were angry. All this was
hurting their business.
Soon, the young man had followers who were traveling all over the
place giving away this new Bread to anyone who wanted it. It was an
instant success. Thousands of people were sold on this Bread, and
formed small groups everywhere to spread it around. The other bakers
tried to force the young man to charge for his Bread, but he refused.
He simply said, "It didn't cost me anything - my father gave it to me."
Despite their attempts, many people kept getting it. "It really
satisfies - and you can't beat the price!" they kept on saying. The
other bread manufacturers plotted to kill the young man. They paid a
'friend' to betray him and witnesses to testify against him falsely.
They got him convicted and executed. They assumed that the whole thing
would now be forgotten.
But to their dismay, the young man's followers kept distributing the
Bread. It really got out of hand - as if the young man wasn't dead at
all. He had certainly started something that was going to be hard to
stop.
The other bakers came up with a clever substitute for the true Bread.
It looked the same as the young man's, but it didn't satisfy. They
used the same name that the young man had used, and got many of his
followers to join them. But people had to buy this counterfeit bread -
and so small groups of them everywhere continued to discover and
distribute the true Bread for free. Thousands of them were killed for
their efforts - but the young man's Bread was here to stay.
Thousands of years have passed now - and his Bread is still available.
it is still free, and people are still discovering it and experiencing
its unique benefits. Sure - there are still those who are trying to
sell counterfeits. Others are saying the Bread is not needed because
people aren't really hungry. Still others say a little bit of it is
O.K. - so long as you don't go overboard on it. Then there are people
who worship books about the original Bread, and others who have
the true Bread but won't let anyone else have it. But the young man's
Bread is still available for those who really want it. And there is
absolutely nothing quite like it for taking away the awful hunger that
gnaws at the insides of every person on earth! "I am the bread of
Life. No one coming to me will be hungry again. Those believing in me
will never thirst!" (Jesus - John 6:35).
(Inspirational submitted by: Graham Ashby)