Not Yummy?!

The Old Testament, particularly the Law of Moses has a long list of clean and unclean foods. (The whole of Leviticus chapter 11 is exclusively devoted to it.) Eating and drinking do play significant roles in Old Testament times. If you look at the list now, it would seem that these people were obsessively concerned with their diet. Some have interpreted these regulations primarily as a regimen for healthy eating, some have dismissed these outdated laws, and claim that we can already eat and drink almost anything now since we are already covered by New Testament grace. On the other hand, we can learn something from this. The list reminds us that we are addicted to an unwholesome diet. It is truly hard to stay away from delicious food that will cause a rise in our cholesterol levels and trigger heart attacks.

Why is it that we still long for food which only seems good, mouth-watering, pleasing to the palette though we know is not healthy for us? To put it bluntly, why do we want to eat the food which will eventually kill us? Why are we consumed by our appetites?

This is because righteousness is not our natural food. We are like our first parents, whose hunger for forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden led to the fall of our race. Our tastes have been captivated by other delicacies. We log onto the internet and feast our eyes on things which degrade our souls. We turn on our televisions and get drunk with wine of violence and fill our stomachs with empty idleness.

So God takes steps to help us get over our taste for food that does not satisfy. Christ taught us the Lord's Supper, using hunger and thirst to point us to better fare. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me," This positive symbolism of the Lord's Supper is powerful: Christ alone can satisfy. Christ alone can sustain. All that we hunger for must be found in Him.

Those who bring their hunger to Christ will be filled with His righteousness. The only way to obtain righteousness is to receive it. Even if we wanted to work for it, we could not expend enough effort to obtain it. Even if we wanted to buy it, we could not offer enough money; neither can we get it by loan. Only way: Just get hungry… for Christ, and then you will finally be filled.


Adapted from: Eat, Drink and Be Hungry by John Koessler
Christianity Today © 2007