"Do not work for the food that goes bad; instead work for the food that lasts for eternal life..." (John 6:27, GNV) As important and significant as our physical hunger for food is, it is merely a symbolism, a pointer to a actual hunger, a more demanding hunger that we all have. It does not matter whether we are aware of it or not; or whether we realize it or not - the truth remains that we all have a deep-seated hunger - a spiritual hunger to worship, to connect with the spiritual and to experience spiritual fulfillment. Some people satiate this hunger with self righteousness, attending church, self morality. Some others try to satiate this hunger by joining fraternities, secret societies, cults and occult group, etc. But none of the above can satiate this spiritual hunger. Just like failure to eat and satiate our physical hunger can lead to physical death, so can failure to eat and satiate our spiritual hunger can lead to spiritual death. It is that simple. God gave us physical hunger so that when we understand how it works, we would also understand how important and significant our spiritual hunger is. .
Speaking in our text above, Jesus told the people "Do not work for the food that goes bad (meaning physical food), but work for the food that will lead to eternal life (meaning spiritual food). There is no other spiritual food except the word of God (Matt 4:4), and through His word we can connect with God and become satisfied. Recognising that only a direct connection and intimate relationship with God can satisfy our spiritual hunger, Philip exclaimed, "Show us the Father and we shall be satisfied" (John 14:8). What you need to become spiritually filled and fulfilled is Jesus. Jesus is the word of God. He is the son of God. He is the way to God. And He is the expess image of God. If you can receive Jesus into your life, you will never remain the same. Don't die of this spiritual hunger, let Jesus fill you and satisfy your hunger. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35, NLT)