You Are What You Read

The saying “you are what you eat” is one phrase I am sure we all are very familiar with. This phrase, to expand on; is a shorthand for “if you eat good food you will be healthy, if you eat bad food you will be unhealthy”

But is it really true that we are what we eat?

Rewind a couple of weeks ago and I was put to the test into finding out the truth about what I eat and the impact (good AND bad) it had on my body. Following the festive period of family time, food, laughter and then MORE food; we all aim to change something and look to have a new routine as we start the new year. And one of the most common changes we make would be in regards to our body mass index. As most people would, I decided to join the bandwagon and set myself to become fitter and shed some fat. I was also feeling slightly confident as I felt I was in a good shape to make this a walk in the park. Sometimes our outward appearance are a big contrast to what is really inside.

So came along the first test where I was playing football with my friends. It all started very well until about 10 minute later and I was struggling to catch my breath. The transition from being fairly confident to decided to run to the side of the pitch to throw up was very quick. Not only did I realise I was unhealthy and not fit enough to run around for 10 minutes plus, but also I should have eased off the large portion of rice and chicken I had the night before.

There is a great comparison to what we eat for our physical body with what we feed our mind, heart and soul in what we read. As our body needs the right amount of food to function properly, so does our mind and soul needs the right spiritual food for it to be fruitful.

What then is this Spiritual food?

In the book of 1 Peter we see the early church beginning to grow in numbers. But with it came the rise of Christians being persecuted by the Roman Empire. Apostle Peter began to reassure the people that God is still in control and they should rejoice during suffering for Jesus sake (1 Peter 4:12). In chapter 2 , he also set himself out to encourage the people to put aside all malice, all deceit hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking; and as new born babies, they should long for the pure milk of God’s word which is needed to grow up as believers (1 Peter 2:1).

In this verses, we see Peter comparing a new born babies long for milk (earthly food) to believers longing for Gods Word (Spiritual food). Being a believer in Jesus Christ doesn’t all of sudden mean we understand all things and are ready to face all challenges in life. Being a believer in Jesus Christ means that we are like new born babies that needs to nurture and develop into what God has called us to be. We are to daily long for the Spiritual food which is the Word of God.

When you have this spiritual food you are then able to build your House on the Word.

I sometimes wonder whilst driving pass streets of houses how inside would look like. From the outer, I can see how beautiful looking the house is but without looking at the inside of the house, I wouldn’t be able to know how amazing it really is. This is how we sometimes we see ourselves and our fellow brother and sisters in Christ. Believing in God and appearing as a Christian to others may not necessary mean we have the Word of God dwelling in our heart. To human eyes we may appear beautiful on the outside but God focuses on the inner (inside) depths of our hearts to see who are truly His (1 Samuel 16:7).

This brings the question “How are you building your House?”

By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established (Proverbs 24:3)                          

Our house is the life we choose to live. What we put as our foundation is important on how our house will be established. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells a parable about those who hear His Words and do them, likening  them to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rains fell, the floods came and the winds blew on the house but it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock (24-25). And to those that hears but do not do them, Jesus likened them to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew on the house, and it fell, and great was fall of it (26-27)

This analogy is great in understanding the importance of building your life on the solid rock of God’s Word. When building a house on a rock, it will take the best of your time, energy and sacrifices in order for the house to deeply rooted. It is much easier to build a house on a sand. It is convenient as no time is spent digging deep to develop a foundation. But as Jesus said, the flood and the winds will come. This signifies all adversities we will face in this world.

Now ask yourself these – Do I go to Church every Sunday, hear the Word but never spend time meditating on them? Or do I cultivate time meditating on the Word day and night until it becomes rooted deep within?

Time spent in the Word is what Jesus is calling us do to. And not only are we called to actively dwell in God’s Word, but Jesus is calling you and I to act upon His Words (verse 24).  And when the storms and the winds come through, we can be rest assured that we will not fall because our foundation is rooted on the solid rock which is the Word of God.