When we think of breaking the bread of life, do we think of focusing on Jesus or opening our Bible or the physical bread Jesus gave the crowds?  Such were the choices that Mary A. Lathbury had when she began to contemplate the thoughts that eventually became Break Thou the Bread of Life.  How often do we go to the Bible as our source of sustenance or uplifting or inspiration?  Jeremiah 15:16 tells us, "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight...." (NIV)  And Deuteronomy 8:3 shows us, "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." (NIV)  The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle was blessed when this hymn was written for their morning sessions, and we are blessed today when this hymn reminds us what is available to us when we break the bread/word of Life. Article taken from Living Stories of Famous Hymns by Ernest K. Emurian. Copyright © 1955 by Baker Book House Company. Used by permission of Baker Book House Company.