34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
-John 4:34-38 NIV
Food is not only a necessity; it’s a delicacy. Food may be essential; but it’s also a source of pleasure and happiness. Food is powerful. It can bring the most unexpected of people together, and the right meal can conjure sweet memories from our childhood. Just imagining our favorite foods makes us a bit hungry. Food is enticing. People travel across the world to eat at certain restaurants. And there’s a reason we’ve all been asked, “What would be your last meal before you die?” Humanity not only has a need for food, we have an obsession with it.
In John 4, Jesus says his food is to do the will of the Father. This imagery is powerful because of all we know about our need for and relationship with food. For Jesus, to do God’s will fueled Him, nourished Him and sustained Him. It also brought Him great pleasure and satisfaction. He savored doing the will of the Father, much like a foodie would savor a signature dish at a Michelin star restaurant.
What fuels you? What nourishes and sustains you? Not only that, what brings you great satisfaction and joy? Hopefully not McDonalds or Taco Bell, but no judgment here. I actually don’t mean physical food at all. Instead, what spiritually fuels you? What whets the appetite of your soul? And what do you crave most?
If you find other things sustaining you, and your cravings not exactly like Jesus’, may you like me, turn to Jesus and receive the grace we need to detox from the things that promise sustenance but lack substance, and instead adjust our diet accordingly– pursuing and taking great joy in doing God’s will in our lives.