Eating
with Jesus
“Here I am! I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with
that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20
NIV)
(Just like I enjoy eating an ice cream with Benjamin, my youngest son, so I believe that God wants to daily enjoy time eating with us through prayer, meditation, and scripture reading.)
I was sitting at a deli
across from one of my African-American friends who told me about his
grandmother who grew up in poverty in the Mississippi delta as a very generous,
loving and spiritual woman. He recalled how one time he was woken up at 3 a.m.
with his grandma screaming. When they ran to her, she just said, “Go back to bed, it was just Jesus who
walked in the room.”
I then asked my friend
when the last time was that Jesus had walked into his room. He sheepishly
looked down and murmured, “Last night.”
This divine dinner
invitation is stocked with a banquet full of spiritual food for us to munch on.
(It is free of all fat and sugar too) The first thing is that Jesus says, “
Here I am.”
When Moses
encountered God at the burning bush, God described himself as “I am that I am”
(Exodus 3:14). The Hebrew word is a verb which means I am who I am or I will be
who I will be. God is not like Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings with a long
beard and stick sitting on a cloud in heaven ready to beat us if we misbehave.
Instead Jesus Christ is standing at the door of our hearts….knocking…waiting.
Could it be that Jesus is knocking on the hearts of everyone waiting for them
to respond, but we just don’t know how recognize him and open the door?
On my grandmother’s living room wall I grew up seeing the
following picture. If you look good at the picture, you will see that something
is missing. What is it?
Do
you see it yet? Can you see what is missing? It is the door handle on the outside
of the door. Our hearts and lives are something God wants access, but we are
the only ones who can open the door for him to be one with us. Can you believe
it? Check out the following promises in the Bible:
"Then Christ will make his home in your
hearts as you trust in him.” (Ephesians
3:17)
“Jesus replied, “All who love me will do
what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with
each of them.” (John 14:23)
Jesus
describes himself as the initiator of this intimate relationship. He is the one
who is asking us for a relationship and not us being the ones who have to go
after him. The apostle John actually says that we love God because he first
loved us and the New Living Translation of Psalm twenty-three describes God goodness
and unfailing love pursuing us. (1 John 4:19; Psalm 23:6 NLT).
A dear
friend of mine pursued the woman whom he is now happily married with for more
than two years before she finally said she would go on a date with him. Now,
nineteen years later, they are both very happy that he did not give up. Could
it be that Jesus is also pursuing the hearts of humankind so that we could all
get to know him? Could it be that everyone is hungry for Jesus but they do not
know that it is Jesus they are looking for or perhaps that he is looking for
them? What does Jesus have to offer
us….seriously?
The primary
message of Jesus was that the kingdom of God was at hand. Scripture makes it
clear that his kingdom is not about rules, but about righteous, joy, and peace in
the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). It is not just about talk, but about power (1
Corinthian 4:20). It is about being able
to tap into the Holy Spirit who lives in us. His unlimited resources include
things such as perfect love, wisdom, unexplainable peace, and supernatural
power (Ephesians 3:16; 1 John 4:18; Phil. 4:4-7; Romans 8:11).
The Grateful
Dead sang, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” to which Jesus responds, "I
am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever
believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) He also says that we become like spiritual water
fountains: “those who drink the water I
give…will have a fresh bubbling spring within them giving eternal life.”(4:14).
Now the question is how do we tap into that water fountain?
My kids love playing with old-
fashioned water pumps. As they pump with patience and determination, soon water
comes. As we open our lives to Jesus and his words in scripture, our spirits
can be nourished. We are made to not only live by bread and money alone, but by
every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3). People who have been
close to God have always described his words as food for their soul (Jer.
15:16).
One day flying back from Berlin to
Amsterdam, I sat next to a beautiful couple who while boarding the plane gave
each other some passionate kisses. I could see that they really were “in love,”
until I started talking to the guy about their relationship. Apparently, this
was their good-bye “we are finished trip” to Berlin weekend. I was
flabbergasted. “But you guys are in love
with each other. I can see it in your eyes. I saw you kissing!”
With pain in his eyes he told me
that this was best for their relationship. Their careers were going in
different directions and it was best for them to be apart. I had a hard time
swallowing his answer and told him that some things are more important than our
careers. I am not Doctor Phil, but cutting off a relationship for financial or
career ambitions alone did not sound legitimate. Leaving my opinion on their
relationship aside, I told him about the importance of hearing God’s voice for
his life.
“What”
he responded, “is that like having a
little green alien on your shoulder telling you what to do.”
“No,
I responded, “Everyone in the world is following an
inner-voice. For most of us, it sounds like the voice of our earthly father or
mother who raised us. It can be a voice that can literally drive us crazy or
one that gives us rest and peace. Through Jesus, I have been able to hear the
voice of my Heavenly Father who says, ‘Matthew, you are my dearly beloved son.
I am pleased with you.”
It is the voice of a good shepherd who leads
me with his voice to green pastures where he makes me lie down next to still
water. Even when I am in dark, dangerous or scary situations, I know that he
comforts me and protects me. Through Jesus, I can tap into an amazing source of
comfort, love, joy, strength, and peace.’
“Well, I don’t believe in God”, he responded, “but that sure is interesting what you are saying.”
True fulfillment is not found in the size
of our bank account, home, or success in our career. Our culture’s focus on
material wealth has made us spiritually poor. Which brings me back to the words
of Jesus, “Blessed are the spiritually poor
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:3).
My
friend’s grandmother lived in great physical poverty but experienced an amazing
spiritual wealth where Jesus was more than just a religious figure, but a
personal friend whom she encountered regularly. Could it be that through the
Holy Spirit we can eat with Him on a daily basis as we devour scripture and
cultivate a relationship of talking and listening to His voice? Bon Apetit! (French
for enjoy some fine eating).
“Is
anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money!
Come,
take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free!
Why
spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that
does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good!
You will enjoy the finest food.
Isaiah
55:1-2
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let
anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. Revelation 22:17
Comments