Well Fed

We all at one time or another think back on the past, consider days gone by and give some time for reflection and understanding of our experiences.  I recall early mornings with my family around our table, eating breakfast, not from a box mind you, but from the able hands of my Mom and Dad.  Until my Dad was diagnosed with heart issues and had to change his (and my) diet, we were blessed with homemade biscuits, bacon, eggs and gravy 5 days a week. My family was not wealthy by any means, but we did manage to buy meat and keep a fairly well stocked fridge for a growing boy to engage.  Every morning at 6:30 sharp breakfast was set on the table and I was expected to be there ready to eat and start my day.

I also recall learning the gospel both at church and in reading the Bible, learning of God’s provision for me, His love for me and His willingness to take the issue of my sin into his own hands, literally, to tear down the wall of separation that existed between Him and me.

You may wonder why I share a memory about breakfast and one about the gospel.  Here’s why.  I believe that the surroundings of one’s life are often the backdrop against which the gospel is set.  I understand God through the circumstances that He allows in my life.  I learn about Him both from His Word and through my experiences of His actions.  One thing for sure in my story, I never have been hungry or lacked the things I need.  God has been so good to me.  I often wonder what it is like for people who have a different story than me, a different set of experiences, a different family life.  I wonder what it is like for them to hear the gospel of Christ.  How do they make sense of the Son of God taking the sin of the world at the cross and being raised to life at the right hand of God victorious?  What do they make of the love of God when they have not experienced love, health or well being in the life?

I am sure of this, my experiences, though not primary, set  me up to hear and understand the gospel.  God was working all around to bring me to faith in Christ.  Upon close inspection I find that the lives of those who claimed Christ represented Him well to me.  I was more able to believe the Word of God because the People of God lived in a way to illustrate the Love and Care of God for me in my life.  Every morning my parents cared for me in a number of ways, but uniquely I experienced a meal.  That meal around the table was a kind of love for me from God and my family.  We have opportunities to show the love and care of God toward people every day.  Southern Baptists support the administrative costs of the World Hunger Fund so that 100% of all contributions go to purchase food for those in great need.  I would urge you and your church to consider the long term implications of both acting and not acting in the world by feeding the most hungry among us.  Just as I received the gospel in a state of being well fed I wonder how much more people would hear the message of Christ when it is accompanied by appropriate acts of love and kindness on behalf of God.  Pray for and participate in the World Hunger Fund, you never know how important a mean can be.

John Elam