Eat

Unlike the beasts, who eat from pure creaturely instinct, man eats on the basis of God’s permission. It was unnecessary to give such command to the beasts. To Adam, however, God invited him to freely eat from Eden’s trees, save one.

Although we’re creatures––needing food as any creature does––our eating is set apart from theirs. For man, eating is more than mere subsistence. The Lord’s first command to our Father Adam was to eat. This means that to eat, for mankind, is ultimately tied to our moral duty to walk in righteousness before God, as His image bearers.

To eat like a beast, merely to gratify hunger, is to deny the high calling God places upon us. This goes deeper than just dietary choices. Drunkenness, gluttony, and food-fussing are excesses which reveal a misunderstanding of what it means to be human; to be human is to bear God’s image, and act accordingly. Paul reminds us that whatever we do, and he uses eating and drinking as the principle example, we are to do to the glory of God. This is why we ought to give thanks for our meals.

But ultimately, our eating is to be done in light of the permission & prohibitions which our Creator gave us. He made us to see our eating as the principle source of the life He freely gave us and sustains us by. We should not only walk in continual gratitude, but also submissive to whatever He prohibits or permits.

Christ’s principle command for those who would live in His New Creation is to eat; eat this bread & wine in remembrance of Him. He made and remade us. In our eating and drinking we are truly human; but only if we begin here, by eating this feast in faith. This feast which is the sign of the true source of eternal life: the body & blood of Christ.

So, come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…