What goes through your mind when you think of the word feast? I recall images of Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or New Year's Dinner, or Easter, or Sunday's, or Friday night dates with my wife. I think of FOOD....lots of FOOD.
It is now safe to say that we live in a gluttonus society. Americans are the most overweight people in the world. We are gettin fatter by the gram. Big Mac's abound. Hardee's quadruple monster burgers are sucked into throats like dust in a vacuum. Backsides expand disproportionately with brains. Flab flops. Fat cells fuse at alarming rates. What used to be injections of sugar in the veins has become bucket loads. No, don't get angry. I'm speaking of myself, or what used to be me. We live to eat rather than eat to live. It is a sign of decadence in the culture, and emptiness in the heart. What would happen to America if a real depression actually hit us in the mouth, or stomach as it were? Food lines at McDonalds? Come on! Yet it could happen.
Jesus has a promise for us.
Matthew 6:31-33
"Don't ever worry and say, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?'Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you." (GWT)
One thing is clear: We don't need as much food as we consume...I speak physically. Not only do we have stores where we can buy food, we have stores of processed food in our systems. If food actually became scarce, we could all go a few days with duct tape over our mouths, and outside of a rebellious, overly ravinous stomach, we would survive just fine.
But one thing we lack is the consumption of the spiritual food offered to members of the kingdom. We don't consume as much spiritual food as we need...just the opposite of our physical diet. Hmmm Jesus promises us a great combo meal. It involves the provision of physical nurishment as well as real spritual meat. Can we not balance both types of diet as we move toward more difficult times? I'm pretty sure I can.
Pastor Jim
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