When I got married and moved into a new home with my beautiful bride it was the start of a new and very exciting phase of life. But every new chapter, no matter how sweet, brings its own new set of rules and challenges. The first thing to really pester my new life was very simple, and it all came down to one thing: food.
Growing up, both my wife and I had a stay-at-home Mum who always provided the food. While I helped out with the preparing of the food I never had the responsibility of working out what we would cook in the first place. Mum would say this is what we are having, or can you please make this and that was that.
But now all of a sudden I had to figure out what was on the menu for breakfast… and lunch… and dinner… seven days a week. It involved a headspace I wasn’t really used to, and consumed a lot more time than I thought possible!
Day to day life is busy – speeding right along with chores to do, appointments to keep and numbers to crunch. Trying to fit in a well-balanced diet without resorting to cheap and fast junk food actually takes quite a concerted effort!
So many sandwiches
I was struck with just how much we need to eat, and how often. Even the most beautifully cooked meal satisfies for only a couple of hours. A lovingly crafted chicken sandwich with smashed avocado, tomatoes and melted cheese made for a filling lunch, especially when paired with a batch of fresh muffins and a milkshake on the side. But after lunch it’s head down to work and before you know it the food craving starts again.
In the bigger picture, life can easily become a cycle of working to fulfil the immediate cravings of our bodies. I need to eat, I need to work, and I really need to sleep! Life picks up the pace and becomes a rushing wind of fulfilling one desire only to be faced with the next one. Welcome to the rat race.
A different perspective
What does God have to say on all this? When Jesus was fasting in the wilderness for forty days Satan came to tempt Him, and urged Jesus to turn a stone into some bread. Here is the reply:
Matthew chapter 4 verse 4 (NIV) – Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
After forty days without food there is no question that Jesus was hungry. But the craving of his body is second to his craving for the word of God. Obviously, we need food to exist, but food alone is not living.
And so as I go to make myself another sandwich to satisfy that continual craving for food, I need to remind myself to crave a richer food as well, a spiritual food. God’s word is sitting on my table, bound in leather, and it is inviting me to feast.