Word of the Week: Snowpocalpyse

Snowpocalypse is a made-up word but, if you’ve lived in Charlottesville for any length of time, you’ve likely heard it before. A snowpocalypse is a catastrophic amount of snow – the end of the world brought to you by winter weather. However, every snow forecast in central Virginia is a snowpocalypse. It’s always a catastrophe. At least, that’s what you would think if you went to the grocery store. The shelves are barren as soon as a meteorologist utters the words “snow” or “ice.” Bread and milk are the first to go in the frantic quest to be prepared.

Does that ever strike you as a bit strange? Why bread and milk? If you’re planning to be snowed in without power for a few days, why purchase the most perishable groceries in the store? Bread will mold. Milk will spoil. There’s a reason that doomsday preppers buy canned goods! Digging in for the long-haul means stocking up on things that last, not things that will perish.

Last Sunday we began a new sermon series, entitled “Who is Jesus?” Seven times in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us who he is and in John 6:22-40 he tells us he is the bread of life. As physical bread nourishes physical life, Jesus nourishes eternal life. Jesus exhorts us: “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life.”

So many of the things we live for are perishable. They satisfy us for a while, but quickly spoil. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t enjoy the temporary things of this life – but we shouldn’t find our life in them. We shouldn’t find our meaning – our identity – in things that are short-lived. Instead, we should plant our roots in the only soil fertile enough to feed us forever. Don’t spend all your time and energy on trivial things. Prioritize what matters. Your life is shorter than you think, but eternity is longer than you imagine.

When the storm is coming, don’t stock up on bread and milk. Stock up on Jesus. His bread will never mold. His milk will never spoil. When we feed on Jesus Christ by faith, we find the deep satisfaction for which we all hunger.