The Other Side of “I Am”

We rarely think about light until the power goes out. We take water for granted until we are hot and thirsty. Bread feels ordinary until a hurricane lingers off the coast. Suddenly half the county is standing in the bread aisle. Some things become precious because we have experienced their absence.

Jesus understood that.

When He wanted people to understand who He was, He did not begin with abstract or scholarly ideas. He spoke into needs they already recognized. 

He talked about bread because people knew hunger. He talked about water because they knew thirst. He talked about light because they knew darkness. He described Himself as a shepherd because people understood how easily sheep wander and how badly they need someone to lead them home.

These were ordinary images meeting people right where they were standing.

Through them, Jesus connected the resources of heaven to the needs of earth.

Consider some of the ways Jesus reveals Himself in John. He is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, and the True Vine. He also offers living water to those who thirst. We usually start by asking, “What does this reveal about Jesus?”

That is the right question. But it is not the only question we can ask.

Every metaphor has another side.

If Jesus is the bread, then we are hungry.

If Jesus offers living water, then we are thirsty.

If Jesus is the light, then we have known darkness.

If Jesus is the shepherd, then we are not as good at finding our own way as we would like to believe.

“I am the resurrection and the life” matters because death is real.

Every “I Am” speaks to an “I am not.”

I am not the source of my own life.

I cannot always see clearly.

I cannot always find my own way.

I cannot sustain life on my own.

I am certainly not strong enough to conquer death.

But Jesus is everything I cannot be for myself.

It can be tempting to think spiritual maturity means needing Jesus less. As if strong Christians eventually learn how to manage life on their own.

Jesus offers a very different picture.

A healthy branch does not outgrow its dependence on the vine. Its growth only reveals how completely dependent it has always been. Separated from the vine, even the healthiest branch will wither.

Perhaps we are embarrassed by our need. We interpret hunger as immaturity, darkness as failure, and uncertainty as weak faith. We assume that if we were stronger Christians, we would not need so much guidance, reassurance, or grace.

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman by Angelika Kauffman (1796)

But need is not evidence that Jesus is absent. It is the reason His presence matters.

Perhaps the places where you feel the greatest need are the very places where you are finally prepared to understand what Jesus meant.

Where are you hungry?

Where are you thirsty?

Where has the trail grown dark?

Where have you quietly lost your way?

Do not rush to hide the answer. Your need is not an obstacle standing between you and Jesus. 

It may be the place where you are finally ready to see Him as He truly is.

The Bread of Life.

The Light of the World.

The Good Shepherd.

The Resurrection and the Life.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The True Vine.

The One who meets every honest “I am not” with the eternal declaration: “I Am.”

Carry the Fire,

SCOJO