Let’s Eat!

Friends and family visits are a joy when living overseas. Catching up on events and people is a glorious time to reflect on the blessings God offers to us in familial fellowship with one another. We recently delighted in showing several family members the glories of Australia– The Great Ocean Road, Fairy penguins, Sovereign Hill, Tasmania, the Blue Mountains, and, of course, iconic Sydney. I think they got a pretty good taste.

Taste…that brings to mind food, eating, ingesting. The bible uses this terminology frequently in passages such as Psalm 34: 8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”. Or how about in Ezekiel 3:1-3 “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.’ Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.’” But why eating? Why not smelling? Or breathing? Or holding?

Well, I started off this blog with the joys of visitors. The down side of these visits is that through no fault of theirs, I neglect my daily bible readings. If I were a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, I would arise early or stay up late to do my readings before the activities of the day overwhelm me. But…I don’t. And when I return to my usual ritual of drinking a cup of coffee and opening up the scriptures before all the silliness of the day begins, I discover that in fact if feels like being fed—no other words are sufficient to describe the fulfillment of spending time listening to what God has to say to me. The Creator of all that is wants to talk to me…me? Really? Me? Surely not!?! Surely yes!!!

Reading the words is a mental process, but understanding them and taking them to heart really is an “eating” process. Chewing, tasting, swallowing to ultimately nourish mind, soul and body. And it tastes good :-d Gorge yourself on The Word, suck the marrow from its truths, get fat wrestling with the scriptures. This is a good obesity. Relish the wisdom, savor the precepts, and pig out on the meat of God’s words spoken directly to you.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. John 4:34

no, No, NO!!!

CNN, purveyors of events, spewer of news, and all round source of truth, recently sent up a news feed headline concerning the horrific events in Charleston, SC. Their clarion call coached the American population to “look inside yourselves” to address the murder of 9 people gathered together for bible study. What those people who tragically were killed at the hands of a young “Cain” would say to all who would hear is do not look within yourselves but look outside of yourselves for comfort, understanding, and wisdom. The only thing you will find inside is sin, evil, vanity, pride, and idolatry. Jesus addressed the wanton killing that prevails within society in the book of Luke. When people are murdered or killed in freak accidents and the like, he responds to those who question these events by encouraging them to repent. Repent you say? Yes, repent. How odd!?! Here is the passage from chapter 13:1-5: “There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he [Jesus] answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

How odd that Jesus’ exhortation to his followers concerning apparent haphazard tragic and lethal events was to repentance. What are we to make of his words? Let’s make a list.

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Psalm 39:4-5

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and come to their end without hope.” Job 7:6

“…yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14

Biblical evidence of God’s reminder of just how miniscule our time is here on earth and yet, one such as Dylann Roof (who probably spent too much time in his own inner sanctum hatching up this scheme) has stamped a brand on the soul of the US that could unite the country against racism, against hatred, against our inner ugliness… and maybe lead us to Christ? The nine people killed would relish to think that their lives meant something other than a statistic for better gun laws (as needed as they are). If you could ask them I think they would hope that their deaths be offered in evidence of the need for a revival, not an inward examination but an outward, repentant plea to the Lord for forgiveness and a renewal of His covenant with humanity.