The Good News 7/11/24 ~ Food for Thought
Food for Thought
When Jesus talks about food in the Gospels, he usually makes points about grace, love, and hope in the kingdom of God to come. When I read those food stories, think about the biggest buffets I can imagine. Plenty of food, drink, and perhaps entertainment to take care of all the people who come to the Father’s feast. I imagine…a Cruise Ship vacation!
As you may know, Leigh and I just returned from an amazing 10 day Mediterranean Cruise. We celebrated 20 years of marriage by seeing many ancient wonders of Italy and Greece. It was a memorable and educational trip.
Cruises are well known for being decadent, and the cruise we were on delivered that experience. We ate at all-you-can-eat breakfast buffets in the morning. We enjoyed specialty evening dining at a on-board French restaurant and a Brazilian steakhouse. Pub-style food was available 24/7. We also enjoyed amenities such as pools, spas, dance parties, dueling pianos, and other fun activities. There are always a lot of good things to do on a cruise. Could there be too much of a good thing?
Yes, there can be too much of a good thing. Ten days is a long cruise. On the first days, the breakfast buffet and surf and turf dinners were delicious. However, after about five days, the omelets were underwhelming, the burgers were bland, and the steak dinners were just juicy protein chomping. It’s an ungrateful and entitled thing to say, but I was getting too much of a good thing. The saying is true: “If you eat too much lobster, it will all begin to taste like soap.”
By the end of the cruise, I found myself not even wanting to look at a steak, or a lobster, or a buffet. Too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing.
Maybe this is how people felt when they refused the invitation to the wedding feast in Matthew 22. Maybe after the feeding of the 5000 story, the people just feel fat and lazy, and they were not interested in anything more. Did wedding guests in Cana just saddle-up to the water-to-wine bar and not care what they were drinking? When it’s about food…or rest…or leisure…or really most anything, we can have too much of a good thing.
Of course, feasts and food in the Gospel stories are metaphors for God’s grace, Jesus’ love, and the Holy Spirit’s provision for us. We will get bored with sumptuous feasts, but the food in the Gospel stories points to something deeper. We can never have too much faith, hope, and love. We will grow tired of too much of a good thing like food but, we will never grow tired of the eternal things like faith, hope, and love. Pray for these spiritual gifts today! (and explore moderation in all things!)
Peace,
