Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life; real life comes by feeding on every word of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 8:3 nlt
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Maybe it is because cabin fever is setting in, but I’ve been thinking about the movie The Matrix this entire week. One of the elements in that movie really speaks to me as a Biblical parable would and really inspired me in my relationship with God.
In the film, once Neo is made aware that the world he has been living in all his life has been nothing more than a simulation, he is able to re-enter that world (the Matrix) with a completely different take on everything that exists there. Armed with this new awareness, he can re-enter the simulation with nothing and make an eternal impact. He doesn’t even need a special skill set – whatever he wants to know, he can request an upload of and he becomes an immediate expert.
It all got me thinking in a spiritual context. In a way, this is a really awesome model for us as Christians. We came into this world with nothing and we will leave it with nothing. I am so often distracted by the temporary things of this world; I place too high a value on things like titles, agendas, possessions, accomplishments, etc. I even go as far as to think “I’ve got to do this because God can’t use me unless…” But when I pause and consider what I need to have or accomplish in this “temporary matrix” to make an eternal impact, I am faced with the realization that I’m putting stock in the wrong things. All I need to “have” is faith. All I need to “be” is available.
Here is the scriptural correlation: chapter 8 of Deuteronomy is entitled “A Call to Remember and Obey.” Moses wants to remind the Israelites to take care to remember what really matters. What our world touts as great and worthy is sometimes just a distraction from the commands of God. God’s ways require us to view everything differently.
“Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life; real life comes by feeding on every word of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3 nlt)
So he removed their supplies in order to remind them of what really matters and then fed them with food that fell from Heaven – who would have thought to look there?! And he did it all to remind us that the REAL source of life, that REAL LIFE, is not bread as we know it.
Real Life comes from having a relationship with The Way, The Truth, The Life. Knowledge of God is our bread.
Before Neo takes the red pill that allows him to learn the truth, he is warned that once he knows the truth, he can never go back.
I pray that my knowledge of the Truth, my relationship with God, is the same way – I can never go back to only living for this earth.
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Dear Lord,
You are the way, the truth and the life. You promise that no one can be a part of your eternal life without going through you. Please let this truth invade my entire life so that I may never be the same. I want to be humbled by you and fed by you. I want to know REAL LIFE through you. Thank you for allowing me to see your miracles everywhere I go, even in science fiction. Amen.
![The [Bread] Matrix](https://messyworship.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/The-Bread-Matrix-MW-Jan.-17.jpg "The [Bread] Matrix")
Great Emily! Nice incite, as usual… And I want to see the Matrix again now.
Thanks, Nick! I know, right?!?!
Having fun catching up on your blog while eating, what else…homemade bread! 🙂 Can’t wait to see you – thank you for “feeding me” so often each week!
Nice!! Thanks for reading, Jen!