We Are What We Eat

I came across this just recently. A church attender wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper stating that he had heard something like three thousand sermons, but he couldn’t remember any of them.

This started a real controversy in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column. Much to the delight of the editor, it went on for weeks until someone wrote this excellent response: “I’ve been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals, but I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today.”

This made me think about the difference between physical food and spiritual food. Both are needed to nourish us, but we could some have problems with physical food. We might choose to eat meals which look and taste nice but are not actually healthy. Or we could spend a lot of money on take-away food, because we are too lazy to cook, but it wouldn’t be good for us.

The same thing could apply to our spiritual food. We might prefer things which are quick and easy to digest, but avoid the stuff which challenges us, is good for our spirit, and makes us think for ourselves. When reading the Bible, we might avoid the more difficult and stretching books and seek the old familiar passages which are easy for us to understand. Then we might read it on autopilot, barely taking it in. Unlike physical food, we can live our lives without reading, praying or studying the Bible for days or weeks at a time, but it’s easy to become spiritually weak that way.

Someone has said that we are what we eat. If that’s true, then does it mean we are what we take on board from sermons, the Bible and quiet times with God? Does it also mean that if we deny ourselves these times, we become spiritually weak? Let’s feast on Him each and every day and become strong in the Lord!

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the wonder and power of Your Word and presence. Thank You for men and women of God that spend so much time preparing sermons to bless and challenge us. Let us wholeheartedly embrace them and feast upon them. You welcome us to come and eat so that we may become strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Amen.