October 20, 2021

Instead of running out the door this morning, like I wanted to, I needed to put my lunch together, which usually consists of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which was the case. It got me to thinking of how much time we spend on preparing to eat and eating. Given our many conveniences, it is easy to forget or not even realize how big of an issue this is or has been for the vast majority of people. I was in a third-world setting where I witnessed a group of people working from the beginning of the day to make food for breakfast, then after cleaning up from that, do the same for lunch, then after cleaning up from that, do the same for dinner. They started early and worked late, day after day after day. It was not like extra-long hours on a special project that would finally get done like building a house, a landscape project, a research paper, a degree, etc. This was life and would be life as far down the road as they could look.

Why do we eat? Why do we have to eat? We are not self-sustaining beings. We do not have solar panels on our heads that convert the rays of the sun into energy for our bodies. We are the creation. We are dependent beings. So much of our life is simply providing for what we have to have in order to sustain our lives day after day. It can get tiring. It can feel monotonous. It can seem futile. I get done with one meal and have to think about another. What is the point?

Now, that’s a good question! The point is the fact that I need God. God has ordained the creation to be dependent on the Creator. I am not an eternally self-existent nor self-sustaining being. I am in need of God. Part of the reason Jesus taught us to pray by saying, “Give us this day our daily bread,” is because we are ultimately dependent on God to provide for our daily necessities. Part of the reason Paul said, “Whether therefore you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God,” is because the most daily and mundane tasks of eating and drinking are to be done with a view toward displaying and reflecting our glorious God.

Therefore, I can put God on display by living in happy dependence on Him. I can honor Him by surrendering to the reality of my place in the creation. That place is being completely reliant upon Him for everything. He is the God who provides the means for peanuts and strawberries, wheat, sugar beets, and water so that in a few hours I can pull out a PBJ and be sustained for a little longer. But, think of this. What kind of a God is this, who ordains that the very means of sustenance can be such a means of pleasure? Yes, preparing food is a labor, but the eating of it can be such a pleasure. Who did that? God! He not only answered my prayer for daily bread, but He has seen fit to give me some peanut butter and jelly to go with it.

If He does that for you day after day after day, then can you see how, in millions of other ways, God provides and will provide for what you need?

Bon Appetite,

Bob

Sunday’s Text: 1 Samuel 1:21-28