But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” Ezekiel 2:8
And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. Ezekiel 3:3
As a good parent, the Lord gives us good food for our nourishment and growth. Everything He gives us is good for us. He knows what we need to strengthen our spirit and to protect us from spiritual germs and diseases!
In the natural, good parents provide wholesome and balanced meals for their children. A healthy meal can include protein, vegetables, carbs, and other good nutritious food sources. Loving parents may have their children take vitamins as extra supplement to fortify their defense system. From time to time, if necessary they may give the children some antibiotics to help fight an infection. Most parents know what is good for their children, and they decide what their children should eat.
I found my kids ate healthier when they were younger because I made what was good for the family. However, the older they became, the more they developed an opinion about their likes and dislikes. Over time, I caved in to their demands and made dishes that they enjoyed but weren’t necessarily balanced in nutrition. They even stopped taking vitamins because I didn’t want to battle their resistance!
When it comes to taking in spiritual food, as children of God we have a tendency to do the same with the Word of God. We enjoy taking in what we like but neglect or ignore what we don’t like. We generally have two camps in the church. There are those who are performance-oriented in their walk with God and others who are “love” oriented. Each group has a tendency to highlight certain scriptures and minimize the other ones.
Those who are performance-oriented like to focus on the scriptures that tell us to repent, be diligent, be faithful and warn us about God’s judgment. Somehow that gives us something to do and keeps us on the treadmill of improvement! Performance-oriented people usually have the right answer to everything but can’t understand how others struggle so much. This camp has a mindset that there is an obligation to obey God and His commandments. However, when it comes to His words of life and encouragement, there is a concern that by believing them too much we could become presumptuous and self-serving!
The truth is that the Lord doesn’t use flattery; if we don’t believe His encouraging words, we are operating in unbelief and rebellion! His words of life are the source of our hope and empowerment. We are called to rest in His presence and abide in His love. For performance-oriented individuals, God’s love is a nice intellectual idea, but they have a hard time settling down and stop striving to really be touched by God’s acceptance and mercy. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and took in everything He said. Staying in His presence can help one gain security in Him rather than in one’s ministry or accomplishment.
I’ll continue with this subject in the next devotional and share about the “love” camp.