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WHAT ARE WE FEEDING OURSELVES?
We love to feed ourselves! We
want what we want and we want it now! The fact that one can drive
through any of your favorite fast-food restaurants and order breakfast,
lunch or dinner is not lost on today’s “society on the go”. Hence, the
fast food industry has grown to a multibillion dollar one because we
just love our Big Macs, Whoppers and tacos. However, an expanding
waistline reminds us that a steady diet of this is not the healthiest
way to eat and so we are now being enticed by food places that offer
“fat free” or “low fat” fare. (Maybe if I eat a low fat dish for lunch,
I can have an extra Twinkie tonight!)
Or maybe food is
not your weakness. Maybe you feed yourself on a steady diet of
television. While not everything on TV is “junk food”, there are still
some things we watch that maybe we shouldn’t. What used to be called
“soap operas” are now billed as “daytime dramas” and contain everything
from pre-marital sex to adultery to murder. “It’s just a TV show” you
say, but how many women haven’t compared their husband to the handsome
hunk on one of those shows only to realize that hubby doesn’t quite
measure up? Perhaps it’s the comedy shows you like. The fare on today’s
prime time sitcoms contains sex (surprise), homosexuality, cussing and
even occasional nudity! The fact that we even need a rating system for
public television ought to tell us that what’s on there isn’t always the
best thing for a Christian (or anyone) to allow their minds to feed on.
There are other
things we feast our eyes and our minds upon like magazines and gossip
but I think you get a picture of what I mean. As Christians, we don’t
always infuse ourselves with what we need to “grow in the grace and
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ”. Let’s let the Master (our great
example) tell us what He fed on during His time on earth.
In John 4
we find Jesus at a well in Samaria while His disciples are gone into
town to buy some food. When they returned they tried to get Jesus to eat
but He said, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” (Vs
32) While His disciples were thinking of earthly, physical food
Jesus explains, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to
accomplish His work.” (Vs 34) Jesus fed himself on the
will of God. It was His drive and motivation to do that which pleases
the Father! The Lord continually prayed and it was evident that He knew
the Scriptures very well; it was this doing of the Father’s will that
was His great objective. How awesome it would be if all His children
said the same thing!
How can we feed
ourselves like Jesus did? We must develop a taste for the things of God.
In His sermon on the mount Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matt.
5:6) We ought to go after righteousness, which is the state of
being right with God, like a hungry man goes after nourishing food. By
making it our greatest desire to be in that state, we develop a hunger
and thirst for God that only He can satisfy. Since He promises to reward
those who diligently seek him, we can be assured that our longing for
Him will be gratified fully.
Once we begin
to really feed ourselves on His word and live out His will in our lives,
then it will become as sweet and nourishing food for our souls, better
than anything this old world has to offer! “How sweet are Thy words
to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm
119:103)
--Zeke Flores
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