Food For Thought

There is a well known story in the Bible about Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman at the well.  You can find the entire story in the 4th chapter of John's Gospel.

Basically, Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Samaria and they needed to stop and rest.  The disciples went into town to grab some McDonald's while Jesus stayed near the well chatting with the locals.  The disciples came back from grabbing some food to see a strange scene of Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman.  Though they thought it was odd, they didn't say anything about it.  The disciples encouraged him to eat something, because obviously his judgement was starting to slip, talking to a dirty Samaritan woman.

Then Jesus replied with, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."  This confused his disciples since they were the ones who went to get food so they ask "Could someone have brought him food?"  Jesus continues, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work."

The purpose of eating food is to provide energy, strength, and nourishment for the body.  Jesus is saying, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."  In other words, "I'm not worried about eating food, but rather living my life in such a way that I bring Glory to God by loving and serving others."

Another way Jesus could have said it is, "What gives me energy and strength is doing what God has created me to do." 

Are you hungry?  Are you sure it's for food?  I must say, this "food you know nothing about" doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless you've experienced it.  If you read on, Jesus doesn't really even bother trying to explain it.  In a way it's like trying to describe a taste.  What does coffee taste like?  What does peanut butter taste like?  Even if you were the best linguist in the world, you still would have to taste it to truly know.


My prayer for you (and for myself) is that your hunger to bring glory to God by doing what he has created you to do is greater than your hunger for actual food.