We live in a culture of instant gratification and fulfillment. If I want to be entertained, I no longer have to learn a skill or trade and carefully craft it. I can simply turn the TV on and pick from thousands of movies or shows. If I need to buy a new jacket, I no longer have to drive to a store, find the jacket that I need, and purchase it in person. I can simply get on Amazon and it will be here tomorrow. Similarly with food, if I am hungry I no longer have to know how to garden, hunt, or even cook. I can just go through the drive through or have someone doordash it to me. And while modern innovation is not always a bad thing, I believe that it has tricked us into believing that this is the way it should be, that it actually makes our lives better, or that things such as entertainment, business, art, or food is morally neutral. We are tricked into believing that God is just the God of the church and He doesn’t have any place in other spheres. Let me tell you right now my friends: nothing is morally neutral. Abraham Kuyper, a former prime minister and theologian in the Netherlands, famously quoted: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry out, Mine!” So, for the rest of this blog, I’d like to present three reasons why food matters in the Kingdom of God.
1. Food reminds us of our dependance on God.
When our Lord taught the disciples to pray, He said, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) He teaches us in this prayer that God is the one who provides us with all that we have in this life, and that includes food. God is self-existent. He does not need us. But we desperately need Him. He is infinite and we are finite. He has given us physical bodies that must be nourished with the food that He provides. Our bodies need to be fed somewhere around 3 times a day and when it’s time to be fed they give us signs such as growling, cravings, or in my case, a desire to eat anything in sight. These are beautiful reminders that we are not God and we depend on God to provide the things we need to live and thrive. This is also why fasting is considered a spiritual discipline that grows our faith. Fasting is the cessation of food (and sometimes water) for a certain period of time. Our bodies will then give us those signs of hunger. Instead of fulfilling them, we go to God in prayer and dependence. We acknowledge that we are not God and lean on Him for strength. It’s a reminder to seek for the true bread of life, Christ Himself. (John 6:35)
2. Food reminds us of God’s good gifts to us.
God gives the average human tongue somewhere between 2,000-10,0000 taste buds. These sensory organs on our tongue allow us to taste the sweetness of apple pie, the savoriness of a nice juicy steak, the sourness of a lemon, the heat of a jalapeno pepper, and the saltiness of a cheese. God has also given us the digestive organs to be able to take that food and convert into energy, muscle, and fat for our bodies. God didn’t create us as succulents so that all that we would have to do is go out in the sun and photosynthesize. He didn’t create us as robots that wouldn’t need food at all. Rather, He gifted us with the ability to take the numerous animals and plants of His creation, consume them, benefit from them, and find pleasure in them. Food was not only created for only sustenance but also to create an awe, reverence, delight, love, and obedience to God. Food points us to the complexity and beautiful design of a Sovereign creator. Food is what we gather around first thing in the morning and last thing at night. It guides us to fellowship with our families, friends, churches, and communities. The Lord has not merely made us need food but to enjoy it as it reflects the wonders of Himself.
3. Food reminds us of the Gospel
Hebrews 9:22 says, “And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” In context, this speaks of Christ being the superior high priest who offers a superior sacrifice in a superior covenant. The Old Covenant Levitical priests would make atonement for Israel’s sin through offering sacrifices. They would take the blood of animals such as bulls or rams and offer them for atonement. In the New Covenant, Christ acts as our high priest by sacrificing Himself, once for all, for the sin of His people. Without the death of the animals there would be no atonement for Israel and without the death and resurrection of Christ there would be no atonement for His people. Jesus died and took the wrath of God on sin that His people would have life eternal and full (John 3:13, John 10:10). And so, there is no life without death. When we eat food, it is the same. We gain life through the death of many other things. When we eat a piece of chicken, we are not only gaining life through the death of the bird, but also through the death of thousands of blades of grass and all kinds of different bugs that the chicken ate to gain life. The grass gained life through the death of thousands of years of dying plants and animals that turn into compost for it to thrive. We gain life through the death of many different things and this points us to the ultimate source of life, Jesus Christ, who died for sinners.
So, the next time you and your family gather around a delicious plate of food, I hope that you will keep these things in mind as you dig in. Food is a precious thing. Food is a beautiful thing. And God has blessed us with an abundance of food and the ability to experience a wide variety of flavors and textures. There is more to food than meets the mouth. The food we eat reminds of our dependance on the eternal, infinite God. The food we eat reminds us of all of the good gifts God has blessed us with. And most importantly, the food we eat reminds us of the gospel. Without the death of many plants and animals you do live temporally, but without the death of Christ on your behalf and His righteousness imputed to you, you do not live eternally.
Soli Deo Gloria