The Grace Diet

I love zoos. I seem to often have some funny experiences at zoos, from watching young monkeys disrupt the mating of their parents with my laughing grandpa and blushing grandma, to whacking big alligators in the head with a bamboo pole at a reptile zoo in Zambia. Both stories for another time. But for this occasion let me tell you about a time when I was at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. We were making our way through as part of a guided tour, getting information on each animal with time to ask questions to our very informed and very passionate tour guide. I must admit, perhaps my discernment was a bit in vacation mode, but at the manatee enclosure, our guide referred to them as the cows of the sea. So the innocent question that first came to my mind, and then quickly out of my mouth to the tour guide and the whole group, was- “What does manatee taste like?” The group got quiet, and I was slow to realize anything wrong was done, but that was made clear through a scowl and a lecture from our guide. But she gave no answer, and I am still left wondering what manatee, the beef of the sea, would taste like. A nice, big, juicy Manatee burger. Admit it, you are a bit curious now, too. 

I love food, and I love trying new food. On my trips, whether to China or Africa, I get excited about sampling the local cuisine. From pig’s ear to duck blood to stinky tofu to squid on a stick, my mind often asks, “I wonder what that tastes like?” 

Food also comes up a good bit in scripture. God commanded feasts and feasting, instructing people at times to eat the fat portions (Nehemiah 8:10). Jesus gave Peter a vision of all kinds of animals with the command to take, kill, and eat (Acts 10). Our eternal life in God’s kingdom will involve a wedding feast (Revelation 19:9). But food has also played a trouble-making role in scripture as well. We see fights about what is okay to eat and what is not okay to eat (1 Corinthians 8, Romans 14). We see Pharisees criticizing Jesus for not washing his hands before he ate. Jesus responded in that situation by saying, “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11). However, I have a growing concern about views, within the church, that might not align with that statement: A growing, elevated view of the types of food that are okay and not okay. A bit of righteousness through food. 

We have our own contemporary foods that are viewed as clean and unclean. Some argue for a higher ethical position through not eating meat, which is more reflective of pagan religions that often took an elevated view of animals in their worship. Or the more contemporary god of health and control, where the new unclean foods are deemed “toxic”, embracing the posture that what goes in you can defile you, and righteousness comes through the right diet and supplements. 

My caution is this: beware of food solutions to fix your life. They make promises like you will be happier, you will live longer, or this will give you better skin. But happiness does not come from things you grow in the ground, and our days are already numbered by our sovereign Lord. Outward beauty is not what we should be chasing. But nonetheless, food has long been the delivery mechanism of empty promises. And as these promises land on the soil of hearts that already long to feel better, or fear getting sick and dying young, or treasure outward beauty more than they should, they take root. People put hope in these promises, build their lives around these promises, and end up looking to food for what only can be found in God. This is not a new thing. 

In Hebrews 13:9, we are told this:

Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

So here is what we can conclude: There were some diverse and strange teachings going on around food. Imagine that. Now, we don’t know what they were for them, but some people seem to be devoted to them. They were leading them away from the all-sufficient Christ. It was leading them to put their hope in food. It was Jesus plus the right diet. 

But the author is telling us that it is good for the heart to be strengthened. I think we would all agree on this. Who doesn’t want a strong heart? In fact, some hear that and would have some diet recommendations for pursuing a strong heart. But the author is not talking about our organ, but our inner man, who we are, and food is not the answer to that. He says, “It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by food.” In other words, don’t turn to food for status, comfort, peace, righteousness, or security. To strengthen our hearts, our inner person, to find status, comfort, peace, righteousness, and security, we turn to grace. 

I wonder what grace tastes like? How do you even eat grace? The next few verses help us with that.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. (Hebrews 10:10-13)

He is still talking about eating, addressing people who are being deceived by strange teachings about food. But he is going to point out a new menu item. Basically, those still trusting in food sacrifices, or the priests that continue to make offerings even though those offerings pointed to Jesus, who offered himself as a final sufficient offering for sin, have no right to eat what we eat. And what do we eat? Grace! And how do we eat grace? We go to him! We go to the cross. We go to the gospel, and not other things. 

When we are worried about cancer, and what causes it, and will I get it, and how can I live longer, we don’t run to clean food, but to the blood of Christ who offers everlasting life. When we want nicer skin and desire beauty, we don’t turn to vitamins, we confront vanity with the gospel that tells us that inner beauty is a better pursuit, like the holy woman of old would adorn themselves with to please God (1 Peter 3). When we are looking for comfort at the end of a hard day, we don’t turn to pizza; we hunger for the one who can truly give rest to our souls, because of the cross. 

Church, it is not wrong to order pizza, or take vitamins, or to try and eat healthy, but we need to beware of trusting in food solutions to fix our life, or ease our fears, or comfort our exhaustion. Their empty promises will not deliver. You are not in control, and you cannot gain control by controlling your diet. But you can trust the one who is in control, and He offers Himself to all who are hungry. It is only through His body and blood that our deepest hungers are satisfied. So, may we have a strong diet of grace that we feed on daily to strengthen our hearts. 


Topics
Discipleship Doctrine
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