Gena and I are foodies. We try different kinds of food from different origins in the world. We challenge each other to remain open-minded about trying new foods and celebrate when find a crown jewel of the culinary world—a food so good we are left speechless! Some may see this as silly and shake their heads, but there are some other foodies out there that are already remembering their crown jewel experience!
So, what’s the big deal about food? It is a great motivator, a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands, and source of life for every living thing on this planet. Food plays a central role in the rise and demise of people, cities, and nations. You don’t need to go far to research this, just continue to read the Bible.
Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit that was good for food and pleasing to the eye (Genesis 3:6). Sodom and Gomorrah fell because of they were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned (Ezekiel 16:49). Esau gave away his birth right for a bowl of stew (Genesis 25:29-34). Over a meal, Joseph’s brothers devised a plan to sell their brother and deceive their father Jacob into believing that a wild animal had killed his beloved favored son (Genesis 37:25-34). Hunger can drive us into doing drastic things. Without food some people experience what has become commonly known as hangry. Which by the way is an actual word that can be found in the Oxford dictionary! “FEED ME, SEYMOUR” – Audrey II
Hangry
han·gry [ˈhaNGɡrē]
adjective
bad-tempered or irritable as a result of hunger.
I get very hangry if I miss a meal
Yet Jesus comes onto the scene of humanity and brings life with a meal. On the last night with His disciples, Jesus shares a meal, the Last Supper. It is with this meal that Jesus begins the arduous journey to suffering, pain, and death. He does not break the bread for Himself, He breaks it for you and me. He does not fill the cup for Himself but pours it out for you and me (Luke 22:19-20). Can you see why He urges us to remember Him in this moment, that He is broken for us, that He will empty Himself out for us? While there has been a history of abusing a meal and compromising our position for it, here Jesus is using a meal to bring about redemption and heals us of spiritual malnourishment! It is because of this exact moment that we are now invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9)!
What are you famished for? What are you craving? What are you hangry about? What spiritual malnourishment are you suffering from? Spiritual food is just as powerful, if not more than physical food; and like physical food there is good spiritual food and bad spiritual food. Another thing that applies to the spiritual that is used in the physical is the following: “You are what you eat!” Those who eat bitter fruit, are themselves bitter. Those who consume unforgiveness, are an unforgiving people. Those who delight in the fruit of anger constantly find themselves at odds with everyone. We could go on-and-on about the many negative fruit and their effects on us, but one thing that is important to mention is that these all come from one seed—self-centeredness.
Self-centered
self-cen·tered [ˈˌself ˈsen(t)ərd]
adjective
1. preoccupied with oneself and one's affairs.
"he's far too self-centered to care what you do"
When we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus on ourselves, we find ourselves dangerously flirting with sin. Cain was warned about this by God and He warns us just as He did Cain; be careful because sin is crouching at the door to your heart and it desires to have you (Genesis 4:6-7). When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we stay focused and connected to the good fruit. After all Jesus promises us that if we remain in Him and He remains in us we will bear much fruit (John 15:5). Not just any fruit, but the Fruit of The Spirit!
Galatians 5:22-26
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Take close notice of what the Apostle Paul states within these verses: 1. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 2. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. If we remain in Christ as He remains in us, we are not to be conceited and give in to our selfish desires and passions. We should not be fighting against each other. This is not fruit that comes from the Spirit, this fruit that comes from a worldly spirit.
Jesus Himself is our greatest example of how we are to fight against our selfish desires and passions. He says that He did not come to be served but to serve. He goes even deeper and says the greatest position we should strive to achieve is that of a servant, humble but exalted by God.
Matthew 20:25-28
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 23:11-12
11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
So, what’s the big deal about food? Well, it all depends on what you have been craving lately.
PRAYER
Holy Spirit,
Reveal in me any spiritual cravings, desires, hunger pangs, and longings that do not line up with Your good fruit. Bring to mind anything that I need to surrender to You. Jesus, I humble myself at Your feet. Help me to keep my eyes on You and to continue to lift You up and not me. Father, I ask You to forgive me of being self-centered and not Christ-centered. I thank You for Your grace and mercy. AMEN!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Nathan
*I would like to thank Pastor Gena for pointing out that Jesus redeemed us and healed us of our spiritual malnourishment with the Last Supper. The Holy Spirit used her to bring this into focus and I am grateful for her obedience in sharing this.
I love you babe, you bring out the best in me! – Nate
