John 4:33-34 So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
The disciples’ response to Jesus about the food He said He had to eat was so similar to Nicodemus and the woman at the well. They didn’t understand and tried to make sense out of what Jesus said from the physical world—normal birth, water, and food. Our first encouragement today might be that when there are things that Jesus says that don’t make sense to us, at least we’re not the only ones. The truth that we are dealing with is that spiritual things cannot be understood by the natural mind, as Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 2:14: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
To live to love with Jesus, we should know that the mindset and thoughts behind living with Jesus are not going to be natural thoughts. They are not going to make sense to us if we are thinking with our culture or even from our own self-centered perspective about life and relationships. Jesus viewed all of his circumstances and relationships through the eyes of His Father. We must view all of our circumstances and relationships through Jesus’ eyes. It’s the only way we can live with Him. The disciples were still learning this lesson. They were thinking physical food, and Jesus was thinking spiritual food.
A second encouragement we can take away from this verse is that if Jesus lives in us and hasn’t changed, then His food is still to do the will of the Father. He is still living to love with His Father. The only change is the means by which He’s doing it. He accomplishes the Father’s work in and through His people. Before His resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit, He worked in His one and only physical body. Ever since then, He has a new body in which to work, and today, He’s eating the food the Father gives Him as He lives to love in us. So, today, let’s eat up! Let’s dine and feast with Jesus and the Father as we do His will—love those the Father brings to us with Jesus.
I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
