Wednesday 25 June 2008

Food For the Soul

 We live in a society that is very conscious of the food and drink that we put in our bodies.  Everything has to be low fat, or low sugar, or low salt.  We are very aware of the need to have healthy bodies, but do we ever give any consideration to the health of our souls?

 Do we give the same consideration to the feeding of our souls as we do to the feeding of our bodies?  What are the sort of things do we take in?  The T.V. programmes some people watch, the movies, the books and magazines, the computer games and internet material – if they were food, they would carry government warnings!  People feed their souls with a diet of rubbish, when they would sooner go hungry than eat junk food.  What a paradox!

 Early on in His ministry Jesus spoke about our spiritual sustenance.  In John chapter 4, He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well and told her, “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life”  John 4:13-14.  What a wonderful promise! Oh that we all would partake of this water.

 Jesus later told His listeners in John 6:54-55, “He who eats My flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, for My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink.”  These remarkable words caused many to stumble, but He explained them to His disciples, “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing: the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life”  John 6:63.  Jesus was speaking of His words.  These are our true food and our true drink!  It is Christ’s words that bring salvation for our soul.  It is His words that will spring up in us into well of eternal life. 

In 1 Peter 2:2 the apostle writes for us,  “like new born babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”  In the same way as a baby needs milk to sustain its physical life, we need Christ’s words to sustain our spiritual life.

So, how’s your diet going?  How are you feeding your soul?

No comments: