Friday, July 23, 2010

Life is more important than food

I want to close this series by giving some perspective on where I am in this process personally. All of this stems from my belief that every decision we make, no matter how mundane, has spiritual meaning, even how we eat. In 1 Corinthians that if we are a believer, our body is a temple of God. A large portion of the Old Testament is a law that was laid out for the children of Israel, I believe mostly for the purpose of showing them and us that everything we do is important to God, and also that we can never do enough right. So I do my best to make choices in every part of my life that honor God, that fulfill his true purpose for me, and that bring glory to him and spread his kingdom, but I do all of this knowing that I can never get everything right. Christ came adn died so that I have freedom from the impossible standard of being all that God created me to be as long as I live on this earth. So here are two important things I have been learning on this journey:

1. Ultimately we have to understand that God is in control.With so many varying opinions, among experts and scientists even, about what is the best nutrition, The best any of us can do is make the choice that seems best withthe knowledge and wisdom we have been entrusted with, and follow it to the best of our ability, trusting that God's grace is enough to bring good from our efforts. At the end of the day it is God who gives us health and sustains us, and it is our hearts that he judges.

2. In Matthew 6 and Luke 12 Jesus tells us not to be anxious about our bodies. "Life is more important that food", he says.Although we all understand that food is necessary for life, and keeping in mind the principles of stewardship listed above, we need to remember that we honor God by living abundant and joyful lives, enjoying his creation, not by doing everything right to the letter. This means that while I should definitely do my best to provide nutrition for my family, even bringing food from far away, like the Proverbs 31 woman, Our diet should never overwhelm or burden me. If I ever become a slave to our nutrition, instead of to God and his kingdom, something is very wrong in my spirit, even if we are doing everything right.

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