Come and Dine

Jesus has a table spread
Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”;
With His manna He doth feed
And supplies our every need:
Oh, ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!

Refrain:
“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”

"He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood dwells continually in Me, and I [in like manner dwell continually] in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me." John 6: 56-57 (AMP)

I don't know about most of you, but after the past four days, I definitely feel "burdened and heavy-laden".  Not in the spiritual sense, just in the "Did I really need three helpings of the dressing and two pieces of the chocolate pie?" kind of way.  Now don't get me wrong.  I was and am very thankful for every morsel I ate, and I'm also very thankful I was able to see and visit with those who made these delicious dishes.  I just think I probably could have been a little more discretionary about the amounts I took in.  I've always pictured myself as "The Cleaner".  My motto is "It's going to go to waste if someone doesn't eat it." I blame this "flaw" in my personality on two things: 1.  My high metabolism, which pretty much allows me to eat however much, of whatever, whenever I want (in fact, people thought Mandee wasn't feeding me well when we were first married because I didn't gain the usual "Newlywed Guy Twenty Extra Pounds!") and 2. My parents always insisting on ordering two or three baskets of French Fries at a diner we always ate at when I was growing up  and everyone counting on me to finish them off (I couldn't let those things go to waste!)  However, as full as I may feel physically, a sermon our worship pastor shared this morning has caused me to think throughout today about how full I am spiritually and how often I partake of what Jesus offers: Himself.

In this passage, Jesus has finished feeding the five thousand and is now preaching on the truth that He is the Bread of Life.  He is reminding His Jewish audience that their forefathers ate manna in the wilderness and yet still died, and revealing to them that they can have true life, eternal life, in Him if they will feed on His flesh and drink His blood.  As you can imagine, these statements didn't go over too well with many in his audience!  While many of the Jewish disciples were likely guilty of having broken some of the Jewish laws, none of them were willing to engage in cannibalism!  Certainly, human beings were not listed among the creatures that God had said the Jews were allowed to eat.  It is no surprise then that many of them, excluding the Twelve, turned away because of this "hard saying".  Many of them were probably mumbling to themselves as they walked away, "I was with him through the 'Love your enemies'. 'Blessed are the meek', and "To gain your life, you must lose it', but I can't go in for eating my rabbi!  He seemed so in his right mind!  What has happened to him?"  Jesus wanted to know who was willing to go beyond feeding everyone in the natural, those who would follow Him when the meals came free and easy, and those who could learn that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him.  He was looking for those who would be so consumed with Him and would so consume Him, it was as though they were feasting on Him daily.  Not in the sense of cannibals, or zombies, or any other creature Hollywood and bad dreams can create, but in the sense of a dependence on Him that runs so deep, we realize and act on the fact that He is the very source of the life eternal, the life blessed, the life lived abundantly and to the full. 

As I write this I must ask myself: Am I satisfied with manna alone, just seeing the hand of God when I need something, and willing to die still stuck only in that state, to pass all my years only perking up my ears and eyes and holding out my hands when the Lord offers me something free and easy?  I remember that the manna couldn't remain, it rotted if the Israelites tried to keep it overnight.  Am I willing to feed daily, hourly, every minute, every second on Christ so that I can live "because of and through Him?"  Am I willing to endure the "hard sayings"  so I can live the life He has called me to live, so I don't walk away, never to return, just confused and miserable?  May I, and we, learn that He must be our source.  If we try to mix anything else with Him, we will hear His rebuke, like that he gave His disciples when they asked him at the Samaritan well, "Lord, aren't you going to eat something?"  His reply? "I have food you don't know about".  Do we want to partake of the food that He has: Himself and His relationship with the Father and doing what the Father has called us to do?  As the old song above says: "He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine, to the hungry calleth now 'Come and dine'."

Father, I thank you for all the abundant and good food I have had the privelege to partake of this past week.  It was good and nourishing to my body, and eating it meant breaking bread and enjoying fellowship with my friends and family.  But Father, as Jesus revealed in the Gospel of John, there is food we don't always think about, may not even know about, that is available to us: Your Son Jesus and doing Your will within the life that You give us through Him.  Help us to remain hungry for Jesus, and to never try to satisfy that hunger with any of the manna of this world, because it will only pass away and leave us wanting.  Please continue to reveal Your will to us as we seek You.  In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

Stay hungry!  Be filled!