The Gospel as Bread and Water, or merely dessert?

Matthew 4Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. ³The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ ⁴But he answered, ‘It is written,

“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

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It seems to me, the more I think about it, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ should be everything to me. It should be the very food and water I

take in, the sustaining nutrients to fuel my day. I should begin each day rooted in the word, and the last thought I think before I fall asleep at night should be a

word of thanks, uttered from exhausted lips, offered up to my sustaining and creating God.

It seems to me this is how life ought to be. This is what my heart desires.

And yet, in my comfort, it seems like I am often guilty of making the Gospel of Christ little more than dessert. It is a delightful treat in which I indulge, rather the core of my being. I am grateful to God for my blessings, but my gratitude doesn't guide my heart and my mind throughout the day.

This dichotomy frustrates me completely. I pray and I pray and I pray, and yet my heart still wanders far from thoughts of my Savior. I long to live with passion for Christ, and yet, in my comfort, I am guilty of forgetting that I have a Savior, living for myself and my own glory.

This is my confession, and my heart's cry for a life centered on Christ, driven by the Holy Spirit.