Food – glorious food! It’s everywhere. Our days and customs are built around it. We need it to survive. We want it to thrive.
Food is also an excellent metaphor for Scripture.
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:2-3
As I consider this idea of Scripture as Food, a couple of thoughts came to my mind.
Food must be eaten.
It seems silly to say, but it only takes one bite of decorative fruit to convince you that food must be eaten and digested. Eugene Peterson writes, “Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love.” (Eat This Book)
Scripture must be consumed. Head knowledge must become heart knowledge which transforms how we walk out our life.
Food Comes in Many Forms
Food, in its natural state, comes from the earth but in our modern society, we have lots of ways of getting it. We can pick it up from the grocery store and cook it ourselves. We can order a prepackaged meal. We can eat at a restaurant or stop for fast food. We can make everything from scratch or buy things in various states of preparation. One could, conceivably, spend an entire lifetime without ever setting foot in a kitchen.
Convenience foods are wonderful. I am so grateful for frozen pizza. Yet we lose something when our main source of nourishment is quick and prepackaged. Sometimes it is obvious – the food we are consuming only resembles real food but is actually empty calories. Other times, what we’ve lost is indefinable. There is a sense of connectedness to be found in the daily ritual of gathering, preparing, and consuming food.
Scripture comes to us in many forms as well. In this age of instant information, we have access to devotionals, emails, blogs, Instagram posts, studies, videos, so much more. In my house we put Scripture on our walls as decoration, we wear it on our clothes, and listen to it on the radio. I read a devotional book with my children, usually a single verse or short passage paired with an anecdote to help clarify the meaning of the verse. I love scrolling through my Instagram feed and seeing a beautiful photograph with a Scripture written over it. These are wonderful, convenient bites of spiritual nourishment. But if my only contact with the Word comes from these pre-packaged, quick fixes, how well is my soul being fed? Sure, we can survive on this limited diet. But can we grow?
Food doesn’t always taste good
My least favorite question in the entire world right now is “what’s for dinner?”, mostly because it is always followed by groans, eye-rolls, and helpful suggestions for something better, like Chick-fil-a. My standard reply to the complaint goes, “You don’t have to like it. It’s good for you.”
Not every part of the Bible is pleasant or easy to read. Humanity is lost, broken, and depraved since the Fall. Story after story in the Bible shows us the depths of depravity, revealing how much we need the generous mercy and kind love of God. We might not always like what we learn but taken together each piece of the Bible is important for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). It’s good for us.
Food is Simple and Complicated
Did you know that the color and shape of food can give you a clue about its nutritional value? Red fruits and vegetables can lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Walnuts – which look like tiny brains – have been shown to improve cognitive health. But of course, we don’t need to know any of this to enjoy a good pasta sauce or apple and walnut salad.
Eating food comes pretty naturally. We pick it up as children with relative ease. As we grow we learn more about the relationships between foods and new techniques for preparing them, enhancing our enjoyment. Then there are professionals. Culinary experts raise food preparation to an art form and nutritionists are forever discovering more about the complex design of food and how it works in our bodies.
Likewise, the Bible comes to us in the form of a story, simple and remarkably accessible regardless of education. Jesus says we need only the faith of a child, as small as a mustard seed (Mark 10:15, Matthew 17:20). Yet study of the Bible is a lifelong endeavor. Scholars devote their lives to study and still never come to the end of unfolding the glorious mystery of who God is and how He loves us. (Job 11:7). You and I don’t have to be an Iron Chef to prepare a delicious and satisfying meal, and we don’t need to be a professor of ancient languages or archeology to study and enjoy Scripture.
Scripture is Food
In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses explained (and Jesus quoted in Matthew 4), that God “humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
Food, like faith, connects us to our sense of self and cultural identity. The smells, tastes, and feelings associated with certain dishes enrich our memories and take us back to the traditions they represent. We are rooted in how we are raised and free to grow in our understanding and experience as we mature.
How does this picture of Scripture as food help you see the place of the Word in your life? Share in the comments on our Facebook page!
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