Only a Taste
There is a feast. A grand feast, full of the most decadent, delicious foods. All of your favorite foods are here. If this were my feast, there would be Mac and Cheese, jambalaya, pizza, chick-fil-a grilled chicken sandwiches, watermelon, the list goes on and on. So, can you imagine walking into this grand room full of your favorite foods and only eating one noodle of Mac and Cheese? Then you walk out. All of that food is set out just for you. Someone lovingly prepared all of your favorite foods, only for you, and you don’t eat any of it. Who would do that?
Well, we do it everyday. God sets out platter upon platter of spiritual food and we don’t partake in the feast. He gives us the Bible, grace, worship, fellowship, prayer, love, peace, service, patience, and oh so much more. He gives us opportunities to grow and to take in his spirit, but we deny him. We don’t eat. Matthew 4:4 says, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word of God.” Not some of the words of God, not a few, not one. Every word of God. We cannot stop after one bite. We can’t stop after two or three or four. We must take in his spirit daily, so we can grow and live and love.
What holds us back? What keeps us from coming to the table? Are we too busy? Do we not care enough about our spiritual health? Maybe it’s that we doubt the Lord, we don’t really believe in him with our whole hearts. If you truly have encountered the Lord, you would not quit, you would chase after him with everything that you have.
And some of us, we are at the table. We are eating. Some of us have met Jesus. Some of us know that God is good and abounding in love, overflowing with grace. But, our knowledge is only a taste of the biggest buffet in the entire universe. We know it exists, but we have no idea how vast that love and grace is for us. So, even if you are at the table, there is always space to grow more and know more.
There is one thing to remember in all of this. We cannot simply be spiritual consumers. We don’t want to be spiritually obese. Just as being physically obese is unhealthy, being spiritually obese is just as unhealthy. When you are trying to lose weight, you do two things, you eat well and exercise. Eating well spiritually means that we are only feasting on God, not on lies, not on sin, not on self-righteousness. Then, there is spiritual exercise. This is the hard part. Part of being a christian is building the kingdom. How can we build the kingdom? We make disciples, we love people, we serve them. “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26. Don’t just consume, serve. Build his kingdom. Share his love.
There is a feast. A grand feast, a never ending feast. And everyone is invited. Everyone is welcome. There are no outcasts, no loners, no mean girls. There is only God. There is only love. Come to the table and feast. But, do not stop there. What good does eating do if you don’t use the energy you have been given? Go, invite God to do his will in your life. Open yourself up. Build his kingdom.
Suggested blog posts: Why do Serve Others?
Inspiration: July 20th- Morning Reading
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