The best food
Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. In all that time he ate nothing, so that he was hungry when it was over.
The Devil said to him, ‘If you are God’s Son, order this stone to turn into bread.’
But Jesus answered, ‘The scripture says, “Human beings cannot live on bread alone.”‘
(verses 1-4)
Read Luke 4:1-13
Perhaps I’m related to Bart Simpson after all—we both love food. Only, where he says, ‘Mmm, chicken’, I say ‘Mmm, lemon meringue pie’.
Isn’t it good that while we’re tucking into our food we can know it’s also doing us good (well, most of it), providing our body with the nutrients we need to stay alive?
What’s even more wonderful is that God has provided us with the food we need—his word—that will ensure we stay alive forever. God’s word points us to the one who said, ‘I am the bread of life’ (John 6:48). As we feed off Jesus by drinking in and digesting all that God’s word tells us about him, our faith is nurtured by the Spirit for a never-ending life with God.
Food helps make this life good. The food God has for us in Jesus ensures a quality of life so good we can’t even imagine it.
We’d be foolish not to get into it, wouldn’t we?
Thank you, heavenly Father, for feeding me through your word. May it keep my faith strong until I’m with you in heaven. Amen.
by Grace Simpson, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)
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