Pepperoni Bread

Growing up Italian, one of my favorite meals was rigatoni marinara paired with a thick slice of homemade pepperoni bread. I am sure most of you have eaten a rigatoni or two, but what about freshly baked pepperoni bread? My mother, to this day a fantastic baker, after kneading and rolling out her dough, would incorporate generous amounts of sliced pepperoni, fresh basil, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, and romano cheeses into her dough and then perfectly bake them together. As you can imagine, the aroma of baking bread filled our house and drove me crazy as I waited to sink my teeth into a slice of fresh pepperoni bread.

Today, I don’t eat pepperoni bread as often as I did when I still lived in my parents’ home, nor does my mother bake it as often as she did in her younger days, but whenever she does bake it, usually, she reserves a couple of loaves for Cathy and me. So, believe me when I say that once those loaves cross the threshold of the front door of our house, it’s not long before we serve up rigatoni marinara and a couple of slices of warmed pepperoni bread. However, no matter how many slices of mom’s pepperoni bread I eat, I’m never quite satisfied.

In John 6:35, 51 Jesus said: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry… whoever eats this bread will live forever.” By calling Himself bread, Jesus says that He is the essential means for life, now and for eternity. In saying, “I am” Jesus says that He is all-sufficient and more than able to provide everything we need in this life and the life to come. Therefore, He cautions us not to be so concerned about chasing after any food that spoils or fails to satisfy completely — even if it is something as delicious as mom’s homemade pepperoni bread — “but for food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27, NIV).

Regardless of your hunger, physical and spiritual strength comes from Jesus. He has the provision and power to meet every need. Therefore, may we seek Jesus as our source of ultimate satisfaction.