You Are What You Eat

Mike Warnke, Christian evangelist and comedian said, “Eat fat, greasy food and you become a fat, greasy dude.”

BBC America hosts nutritionist Gillian McKeith who works with unhealthy eaters to break lifetimes of bad habits. BBC introduces their webpage with this introduction: Is your fridge stocked full of fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats OR is it full of fat-filled, overly salted processed convenience foods and abandoned take-out containers? If we truly are what we eat, what do your eating habits say about you?

The same can be said of our diet and consumption socially, mentally and spiritually.

- If consumed with materialism one can never get enough money, benefits, or promotions

- If consumed with fear of death one spends all their energies on gimmicks to live longer

- If consumed with Jesus’ command in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God” our priorities and interests are very different to the other possibilities.

You are what you eat

Jesus consumed his energies with Father’s will. Jesus, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34).

You are what you eat.

There are two spoken words of Jesus which when translated to English are translated as two sentences. Jesus offers us glimpses into his heart with the things he said. We see his priorities, his passions, and his focus. We capture a powerful picture of what “fed” his spirit and mattered most of all to him.

1. “I am thirsty” (John 19:28)

- A low whisper. Only those nearest the cross would pick up on it.

- Jesus’ words, “I am thirsty” impress three important truths on us. It was

i. A fulfilling act

If you asked me why I became an officer (pastor) the reasons are simple. Money, security, promotion, and marry a hot woman!

Real reason: a fulfilling act. God chose me for this work and I responded with ‘Yes’…

- Jesus, being God, acted to fulfill Scripture, such as Psalm 69:21 – “They put gall (Msg: poison) in my food and gave me vinegar (sour drink) for my thirst.”

Wiersbe: “When I hear the Lord Jesus say, ‘I thirst,’ it reminds me that I must be obedient to the Word of God...Why was he born in Bethlehem? It fulfilled prophecy. Why did he go down to Egypt? It fulfilled prophecy. Why did our Lord move to Nazareth? It fulfilled prophecy. Why did He do what He did? He was obeying the Word of God. ‘Obedient unto death, even death of the cross’ (Phil. 2:8).”

- Are there things you do for no other reason other than you know it’s what God wants of you? Stay faithful! Jesus knows how it feels! Reward!..

“I am thirsty” is Jesus’ response to

ii. A physical awareness

a. Greek means to suffer thirst, suffer from thirst (greekbible.com)

b. Jesus, the man, was thirsty. Pastor and author, Max Lucado reminds us “That’s not THE CHRIST that’s thirsty. That’s the carpenter. And those are words of humanity in the midst of divinity.”

c. Identifying with our physical realities.

E.g. hospital experiences of applying sponged water to a person’s lips and gums We can witness the suffering Christ in the wasting frame of a loved one whose road to death leads to thirst. These can be holy moments when viewed through different eyes.

“I am thirsty” speaks of His hunger with

iii. A spiritual ambition

There’s not a person here who has not had ambitions of one sort or another. A valued theme I enjoy in Star Trek: The Next Generation is the idea that the development of human character is more valued that materialism or status in society.

Down-side to ambition is pursuit for selfish reasons with no value for the effect our pursuits have on other people.

Jesus’ words are a figure of speech which represents something totally different to the obvious. The cross did not create Jesus’ thirst. It was his thirst that put him on the cross

- His thirst to give life to the dead

- His thirst to put man right with God

- Rejection of Christ contributes to his thirst - longs to be in fellowship with us

Gill’s Exposition of the Bible states the obvious but more in saying it is “literally true of him, and may be also understood spiritually of his great thirst and eager desire after the salvation of his people.”

His cry is our own. The human spirit thirsts for more than what is or where we are. That thirst is a thirst for God. The rich man in hell spoke of thirst – Luke 16:24 "The rich man shouted, ’Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.’