“GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD” (Matthew 6:11)

By Rev. Cornelis Pronk as referenced in Winter 2012

Saving sinners is Christ's greatest concern. But it is not His only concern. He is not only interested in the well-being of our souls, but also of our bodies. When a great crowd followed Jesus because they had seen Him perform miracles of healing, the Savior, realizing it was getting late, asked, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (John 6:5). Knowing that their ultimate need was to feed their souls with the Bread from heaven, He understood that their immediate need was to get some bread for their bodies. That is why the Lord's Prayer also includes the petition: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Bread here means not only food, but stands for all the needs of our body. We pray for food and clothes, for work and health, and all things on which the preservation of our life depends. All “bread” in this comprehensive sense comes from God.

Yet, how slow we are to learn this lesson, especially in this modern age! We still call upon the Lord to supply our spiritual needs, or so we claim. But do we also go to Him with our physical needs? When we are sick, we see a doctor. When we are in financial trouble there is a government “safety net” we might choose to rely on. Not that these things are wrong, of course not. But it is wrong if we put our trust in them. That is sin. When the Holy Spirit shows us who we are, namely miserable sinners, we will begin to see the wonder of God's daily care for us. Then every crumb of bread becomes a gift of God, earned for us by the Lord Jesus Christ. The more we see our own unworthiness, the more we will appreciate the blessings which flow from God via the cross of Calvary.

“Give us this day our daily bread.” The prayer for bread also teaches us the right use of our earthly goods. Whatever the Lord gives us, He wants us to use for His glory and for the welfare of others. Notice the pronouns in this petition. It is not give me this day my daily bread but give us this day our daily bread. We are taught here to think not only of ourselves, but also of others.

The early Church put this into practice. Beginning at Pentecost “all that believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44). The New Testament lays upon us a social consciousness. Every day God gives us our bread, to be used and enjoyed by us certainly, but not selfishly. We are to share our abundance with others in word and deed, not only with members of the local church family, but with needy Christians around the world and even with those “outside” the family in order to bring them in. “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”(1 John 3:17).

Pastor Cornelis (Neil) Pronk is an emeritus pastor for the Free Reformed Church of North America, and lives in Brantford, Ontario.