Bread Of Heaven

John Ball writes:
During the season of Lent we are often reminded of Jesus's temptations at the hands of the Devil when he spent forty days in the wilderness without food.
It was when Jesus was at his weakest that the Devil came to him.
When Esau was tired and hungry he gave up his birthright for a bowl of food, his birthright being the love of God.
But when Jesus was tempted by the Devil, Jesus responded that man does not live by bread alone. Yes, we need physical bread , but we live, truly live, as sons of God, and not monkeys that see no further than their appetites, by eating the bread of heaven.
Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness. Most of us never get, nor make the opportunity to drop out of society for forty days, but we can contemplate God in our quieter moments.
Jesus did not go into the desert for his own benefit, but to give glory to God. Unlike the Buddhist or the moralist his mind was not turned in on himself.
 When we contemplate God, the living God, the God of love, then we give glory to him, and by doing so we claim our birthright of living in Love, knowing that love is what makes us truly alive.
Tempted as we are, goaded, prodded, worn out by daily struggle and the Devil whispering in our ear it is easy to forget that we are here to serve God, that the love of God, the love that we give in our work and our play and our family and friends is the true bread of heaven.