Few things matter as much to me as food. I love food, and I would guess that if you have a pulse and a stomach that you love food to.
Not only is food something that you and I can enjoy (Did I mention that I love food?), but food is also something that you and I can use.
In the gospels we see that Jesus came to this earth as God in the flesh with a mission to give His life as a ransom so that we could have everlasting life. And while Jesus was living out this mission, Luke 7:34 tells us that, “the Son of Man” came eating and drinking” (My kind of guy!)
I want you to think about that. One of the things that Jesus did during His time on earth was partake in meals!
Here are some examples from a great book, A Meal With Jesus
In Luke 5 Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners at the home of Levi.
In Luke 7 Jesus is anointed at the home of Simon the Pharisee during a meal.
In Luke 9 Jesus feeds the five thousand with an old school lunchable.
Now I am getting hungry.
In Luke 10 Jesus eats in the home of Martha and Mary.
In Luke 11 Jesus condemns the Pharisees and teachers of the law at a meal.
I think you get the point. Jesus used His meals a lot in order to do a lot of different things.
Rather than just mindlessly grabbing a trey from the lunch lady or grabbing some drive through off campus, here are some ways that you and I can do the same and use our meals like Jesus.
1. Meet Somebody New
Meals can be a great way for you and I to meet some new people and build more relationships that point to Christ. All throughout the gospels we can see Jesus use His meals as a tool to build relationships and share the gospel. Seeing the lunch table as a mission field could make a massive difference in the lives of others.
2. Start A Bible Study.
Sure you can talk about the “most dramatic season of the Bachelor ever,” or last night’s football game, or why anybody would actually watch Dancing With The Stars, BUT you could also use one of your lunches to come together with some friends and study God’s Word. Psalm 1 tells us that when we meditate on God’s Word we are like a plant that has an abundance of water. Spending time in God’s Word will lead to growth. What would it look like for you to use a lunch to get into the Bible?
3. Build Somebody Up.
It can be hard to find some encouragement today. People cast shade on social media all day. People crack jokes in classrooms that hurt. And gossip has been slung at lunch as long as lunch has existed. The list goes on and on about how destructive we can all be towards one another. A meal can be a great time to build others up. As Christians we are people of hope, and we are people who have been blessed with Christ. What we have received in Christ should impact every area of our lives, including our meals. Our lunches can be a great time to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:11 where we can “encourage one another and build one another up.”
Let’s not waste our lunch by spending our time recapping the “final rose,” gossiping about last weekend, and tearing others down. Let’s spend our lunches living on mission, pointing others to Jesus, learning His Word, and building others up.
Bon appetit.