SPIRITUAL GOOD EATS

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.  

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Psalm 63:1-5

Do you know where your food comes from? 

Is it Organic?

Is it Pesticide-free?

Is it Non-GMO

Is it Whole Grain?

Is it Free-Range?

Is it Farm-Raised?

Is it Spring-Fed?

We read the labels on what we buy, but sometimes pay no attention to what our eyes, ears and heart ingest.

So if we’re feeling Anemic, maybe we should check the source and the contents of our “spiritual eats.”

The prophet Isaiah asks:

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.*

David answers, from the Desert of Judah:

God, you are my God …

I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.**

Like a starving man, he seeks after the One True God, the God of power and glory, whose love is better than life.

And the result:

He is full.  He is completely satisfied.  As if he has eaten the richest, most nutritious food the world has to offer.

Good spiritual eats.

*Isaiah 55:2

**Psalm 63:1-5

NO LONGER BLIND! – (1)

"I am the Light of the world." John 8:12

 

I am sitting in the dark as I type this.  Why did Jesus compare himself to “light”?  I am a sighted person and so it is hard for me to imagine not having light as a constant function in my life.  And, living in the 21^st century – don’t you find that you can’t even get away from light when you want to?  With my lights off, at 10 o’clock at night, I can still see everything in my house because of LEDs on the TV, computer, stove, clock, etc. 

Sitting in the dark does make me think, though.  I can’t see anything very well.  I can’t see colors.  If I forget where I had put something, as I walk around I’ll get some bumps and bruises.  I will restrict myself to this known landscape of my house.  I’ll be more afraid.  I’ll be more vulnerable.  If something or someone were about to attack me, I wouldn’t know it.

Little children often fear the dark.  There might be monsters in the unknown.  But grown-ups can fear it, too.  There are some scary movies being made recently about whole-scale blackouts – about whole cities being off the grid.  Why do we fear darkness? 

If physical darkness is scary, how much more terrifying is spiritual darkness.  And what is spiritual darkness.  It is having absolutely no idea of what is going on in the spiritual world.  Some of you may say, “What spiritual world?” because you don’t believe there is one.  May I propose to you that THAT is spiritual darkness.  There is a spiritual world, which contains both good and evil, and it doesn’t cease to exist when someone doesn’t see it.  Not being able to see is called blindness.

So, when Jesus said “I am the light,” he was telling us that he cures our spiritual blindness.  He gives us the ability to see what we otherwise are unaware of.  If we can SEE into the spiritual realm, we aren’t vulnerable, afraid, and tripping all over everything.  If there is an enemy, we can fight.  Being spiritually in the light is very powerful.

Here are just some of the quotes from Jesus telling us he is our LIGHT:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life … While I am in the world, I am the light of the world … Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light … It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light … You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going …Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light ... I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

[John 8:12, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:35-36, 12:46]

Just one parting thought:  It is wise to STAY CLOSE to  the LIGHT -- if you want to see where you’re going!