The Lord's Compassion was evidenced every day with the children of Israel. Daily, manna was provided and when the people complained God provided meat and water. There were many people who refused to be nurtured by the Lord and asked to go back to Egypt where they knew they could eat at the hands of their oppressors. They would never be allowed to cross the Jordan where milk and honey flowed freely. Their children who would be born in the wilderness and be raised with a dependence on the Lord would realize that privilege.
I wonder if we must be willing to realize that everything we have comes at the hands of God. He feeds us from day to day nurturing our bodies and our souls. Then out of that humble reality God asks the Israelites to remember those who want and extend the mercy they have received at His hands to others: "and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee..." (Deuteronomy 14:29)
I've thought along similar lines. It is interesting to me how whenever food is brought up in the scriptures there is always a lesson or some other emphasis on "gratitude" (or ingratitude as with the children of Israel) connected with it. I believe that this connection is while plainly spiritual also very physical. If we are eating gluttonously and without thought we are not conscious of being grateful for what we are taking into our bodies and in so doing are harming our bodies. While on the other hand when we are sincerely grateful for the food we prepare we naturally take much more care in preparing it and it does our bodies good. We feel fed not only by the food but by the loving Creator who provided our sustenance.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started this blog I didn't think I would learn so many lesson like the one you have just articulated so well. I learned that food can play a strong role in helping us learn all that God will have us learn.
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