Today is…

an excellent day to take nutritional advice from Jesus.

“But He said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”  John 4:32 KJV

When the disciples returned from the village with food, they tried to get Jesus to eat, which is when He gave them the above response. The disciples were confused and they asked Him if someone had given Him food while they were gone.

“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34 KJV).

Of course Jesus was talking about spiritual nourishment, and the point that He was trying to make was that this type of nourishment is more important than physical nourishment, for what good is a well fed body if the Spirit is starving to death?

Jesus was trying to teach that not only does our spiritual nourishment come from the Word of God, it also comes from doing the work of God. For Christ, the work was to develop a following of individuals who would teach the world about the gift of salvation that was given to us all when Christ completed His work and gave His life on the cross.

Each one of us is charged with continuing God’s work while we live. In order to do God’s work we need nourishment, so for our spiritual sustenance we have not only the Word of God, but the work itself. Telling others about the promises that will be theirs when they, too, accept Jesus Christ as Savior will nourish us by filling us even more full of the Spirit of God. It also reveals to others how they can begin to become spiritually nourished as well.

Before Jesus was betrayed and arrested, He prayed for Himself: “I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.” (John 17:4-5 NIV).

Jesus also prayed for His disciples, but before completing His mission, He prayed for all of us: “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message.” (John 17:20 NLT).

Jesus obtained spiritual nourishment through the Word of God and by completing the work of God. He encourages us, through His disciples, to obtain the same nourishment for ourselves.

There are numerous sources of advice on how to properly nourish our bodies, but there is only one source of advice on how to obtain spiritual nourishment. That source is Christ, and we would do well to follow His advice.

And then we will find ourselves anxiously awaiting dessert!

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson