Man Cannot Live on "CRAP" Alone!
Don't you find it ironic that we would laugh (at least inside) at someone who seemed confused as to why he/she had health issues when they chose to have a diet consisting only of the things they loved like chocolate, candy, breads, and sodas? For the most part, we would all agree that "one cannot live on CRAP alone" we have to have healthy nourishment, food or substances necessary for life, growth, and health. Right? When it comes to our physical bodies it seems to be a "no-brainer" but when we start analyzing our spiritual life it appears to be more complicated. But is it really?
"God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing" (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 49).
Just as we do with food and exercise, we have to make the daily choice to nourish our soul(mind) with Christ. If I try to live my life based on the idea that God saved me and now I am free to live my life doing the things I enjoy, I want, that make ME feel good (like chocolate, soda, and bread/going after my own desires in life rather than seeking first the kingdom of Heaven :)...then I may have temporary happiness but not eternal joy. There is no way, that is not what I was created to live on. I will have that sugar high and then the consequential low. The things of this world are empty and unfulfilling but nourishment based on Christ is eternal and fill you up without the sugar high and crash (Pam's version of 1 John 2:17).
Let's look at Ephesians 4:11-16:
11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
From this passage we see the concept of nourishment (substances necessary for life, growth, and health of the spiritual body):
- Building up of each individual part (16) for the strength of the whole body(12,16)
- Unity in the faith and knowledge of God’s Son (13)
- Maturity measured by Christ’s fullness (13b)
- Strong in our faith/teaching (14)
From this passage I took away three parts to spiritual nourishment: personal responsibility to get, God's (Holy Spirit's) responsibility to promote growth, and the corporate responsibility to give nourishment.
Personal responsibility to get:
Paul emphasized in 1st Timothy 4:6-7 our responsibility for our own personal growth in Christ Jesus. He says, "...train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (HCSB). It's a given that we should be training our physical bodies because they were given to us by Him and otherwise they decay and die even faster, but how quickly we can lose sight of our spiritual decay. If you are not growing in Him, you are dying...no one stays neutral.
How do we do this? Paul doesn't leave us hanging without any plan. Although there are many examples, the general idea is stated in Colossians 2:6-7, "Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude" (HCSB). There is a responsiblity to choose to walk with Him, to be built up in Him, established in our faith by the TRUTHS that we are and have been taught. Where do we find these truths? The Word of God. He said to be established and built up in Him; Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." (John 14:6a). We study the life of Jesus, we love like he did, we pray like he did, we pray to Him, study His words and actions, we long for Him, and we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Deuteronomy 6:5). That...is where we start.
Responsibility of the Holy Spirit to produce:
If we look back at Ephesians 4 we see that He "gave some to be teachers..." (11) and He promotes the growth (15-16). Then, once again, our great mentor, Paul, reminds us that we are being renewed in the image of our Creator (Col 3:10b). Despite our constant failures, sins, and weaknesses, He has not given up on us. He longs for us to imitate Him and His divine nature/character, because when we do that, He receives glory and honor. Likewise, when we do not, He does not.
With food, we have the daily responsibility to choose healthy choices that will benefit and nourish our bodies. Then we have to TRUST that the nutrients in the foods will do what they were created to do and actually nourish our bodies. We have this same relationship with the Lord where we have to daily choose to nourish our souls (minds) with Him, and then TRUST His Word that He will promote the growth and nourish our spiritual walk with Him. If He is who He says He is, and He is, then He cannot do anything contrary to His nature, and He promises that if you seek, you will find; if you knock, the door will open; and if you ask, you will receive (Matthew 7:7). He longs for us to have wisdom; He longs for us to have a close relationship with Him.
Combination Responsibility:
David knew that inorder for him to mature and learn in the things of God, to grow closer to God, and stay strong and steadfast in Him, His walk and relationship had to be a God-David "thing". It couldn't be a David just believes and God does, or a God created and now everything is left up to David's works; it had to be a constant communion and effort between the two of them. Lets look at some examples in Psalm 119:
10 - I have sought You with all my heart;
don’t [You] let me wander from Your commands.
11 - I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.
15 – I will delight in Your precepts
and think about Your ways.
16 – I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
18 – [You] open my eyes so that
I may contemplate the wonderful things from Your instruction.
These are only a few of the examples of how David showed the interactive relationship necessary for his spiritual strength to survive and mature. He knew that he had to take responsibility for the "taking in" of God's words, precepts, and commands. He had to be responsible for obeying, learning, and meditating on His words. Then He had to trust that God would do His part in the growth, protection, provision, and the overall nourishment of his spirit. If you want to see a TON more, I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Psalm 119.
Jesus made it very clear that we had a personal responsibility but yet we could not do it alone, "Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch in unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me" (HCSB, John 15:4-5). There is no question, we have the choice whether or not we are going to remain in Him or not, but if we choose NOT to remain in Him (obey Him, meditate on the things of Him, love Him, imitate Him, and follow Him) we are absolutely unable to produce fruit (imitate His character) on our own. IMPOSSIBLE! We cannot do it alone. We are kidding ourselves if we think we can feed on CRAP and live to please Him/or be nourished, NOT POSSIBLE.
Paul knew it had to be a combination of the two responsibilities when he prayed for believers,
"For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen " (HCSB, Ephesians 3:14-21).
Corporate responsibility to give:
In Colossians 3:16, Paul stated, "Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God" (HCSB). It is obvious by this passage that we (Christians) are not intended to nourish ourselves. We have a responsibility to give nourishment to one another.
Paul said in Ephesians 4, "He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of the ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of God's Son, growing in to a mature man with a stature measured by Christ's fullness" (11-13). He then reminded us (believers) to "speak the truth to each other...because we are members of one another" (25), and lastly, in verse 32 he states that "No foul language is to come from your mouth but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. And don't grieve the Holy Spirit." I LOVE this last verse. I looked up the word “grace” in the Strong's Dictionary and here is the definition it gives: divine influence upon the heart, and it’s reflection in the life. WOW!! Do we really think about our words having that kind of impact on those with whom we come into contact? Notice there is no indication of a positive or negative influence, just an influence. So it means that what we say, the words that come from our mouth, will have an influence one way or the other. What about our kids? Our spouse? Our parents? Siblings? Those in the grocery store? Amazing! What kind of divine influence are you having upon their heart! Without a doubt this is a divine corporate responsibility that each one of us has to positively influence those around us towards our Creator and Savior NOT away from Him.
John said that “Christ came that we might have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10), but it is not this free ride. We must personally get and give nourishment... And I am convinced… “that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6)…Amen.
