We live in a society that’s confused about food. Just think about all the conflicted messages you’ve heard about food this week; what’s good for you, what isn’t; you need to diet, why not go large; Britain faces an epidemic of obesity, anorexia and bulimia are on the rise. Our society is schizophrenic when it comes to food and the messages we hear.
And it’s not just in the area of food, but in the area of relationships too. We’re encouraged to live as independent individuals who rely on nobody and manage on our own and yet society mourns the loss of community and the rise of loneliness and isolation. We create things like Facebook and Twitter to enable us to connect but they end up making us less connected than ever as we each sit at home or in our rooms on our own and ‘cyber-connect’ rather than really connecting and being known.
We live in a world that’s screwed up, but it’s screwed up and doesn’t know it, and the very things it thinks will solve the problem so often only end up making it worse. Why? Because the virus of sin has got into our DNA and deleted chunks of our operating system and replaced other bits with defective code. And it isn’t out there, the problem is in here – it’s in our thinking about relationships, body image, and food.
Grab your bibles and turn to Genesis 1v26-31. We’re going to see God’s original plan for food and relationship and how the two are intertwined.
We are made for relationship
(26)ought to amaze us. God – the almighty creator of the universe, who has just created with a word, the Father, Son and Spirit, the holy blindingly glorious awesome God – said “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness...”
Don’t rush over that, just think about it. God makes us in his image. Unlike every other creature God makes this marks us out as unique, as different. We’re made in the image of God. But what does that mean?
That doesn’t mean physically you look like God, or for the more image obsessed among you that God looks like you. It can’t be can it? Just look round the room at all the noses on display, big ones, small ones, rounded ones, pointed ones. It’s not that God looks like us physically. But it does mean for example that God sees, hears and speaks as we do. But there are lots of others things God does which we don’t.
Think of it like this I have 4 boys at home, people often say that you can tell who their dad is. It’s not that they all look the same, or that they all look like me, luckily for them. But that they bear the family likeness. We reflect something of God’s nature in a way nothing else does – some of that we see here, for example we’re made to rule, as regents mediating God’s rule.
Part of that image bearing, that likeness is that we are designed for relationship. (26) “Let us... in our image, in our likeness”. God is Triune; Father, Son and Spirit, from eternity delighting in and enjoying relationship with one another. And Genesis 1 flows out of that joy in relationship within the Trinity. They create not because they need worshippers, or were bored or lonely but so that their joy and relationship can be shared with others.
And because they create out of this joy in relationship they create us in their image – designed to find joy in relationship, both with Father, Son and Spirit but also with others. (27)God made not a lone man but when he declares it very good, there’s a man and woman in relationship with one another. In the image of God. And notice the command that they are given – they’re to (28)”Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it...” Making lots more God-image bearers, fill the earth with them.
We mustn’t shrink this passage to being about marriage, (28)expands this picture – God made us to relate to a multitude of people in a multitude of different ways. God’s plan is a community of image bearers knowing and enjoying him and knowing and enjoying one another. The picture isn’t just of Adam and Eve at home on their own with a Dominoes take away, a DVD and one another for company to the exclusion of everything else. Marriage is given as a way to create community.
God is good and in his goodness he made us for relationship with him and for community.
God gifts us food to facilitate relationship
It’s no accident that having created humanity for relationship, to image God to the world, that (29)God gifts us food. “I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” Do you see the generosity of God there? All the seed bearing plants, all the seed bearing fruit trees, on the whole earth! Wow! Did you know there are over 2000 known types of fruit. Adam and Eve look at the world it’s your larder, now go enjoy! Thousands of different tastes, textures, and smells to be enjoyed. There’s a sense in which as we enjoy food and new tastes and textures we should just praise God for his goodness and generosity – life isn’t about one pot noodle after another! God is better than that! God lays on lavish enjoyable eating. God designed food for our enjoyment as a celebration of his goodness, love and generosity.
That’s why in the rest of the Bible celebrations are tied in with food, with eating. That’s why in the Old Testament so much eating is tied in to blessings.
God provides food lavishly to facilitate relationship. Meals in the Bible are viewed as family and community time, as teaching opportunities, as chances to get to know people better. Just go away and read Luke, Jesus seems to eat more often that a London food critic!
In sharing a meal with someone we slow down, we prepare and have time to talk as we do so. Then we sit and eat, we take time out and give people the invitation to get to know us better. We invite them to share something of themselves with us, we show someone we value them. Food connects us with family, with friends, and provides the opportunity for strangers to become friends.
God designs food to facilitate the building of relationships.
But we need to recognise that sin has infected our view of food and our view of ourselves. How? It leads us to think of eating as just refuelling, or as a necessary inconvenience, as functional, as guilt inducing rather than enjoyable, or as a necessary evil or an idol. And from all this infected thinking come obesity, anorexia, bulimia, dieting, gorging ourselves, fast food, junk food and so on.
But God redeems food for us in Christ. It isn’t an accident that the means of remembering our salvation is a meal. And as Jesus sat down with his disciples it isn’t to a cube of bread or a wafer and a thimble or mouth full of wine. It’s part of a lavish celebration feast. The New Testament church carried on that tradition, a celebration meal at which communion was part. Why? Because it was part of a bigger picture of the wedding feast of Christ and his bride when he returns.
Eating is a sign of relationship and welcome in Jesus. It is a way of building community, reminding ourselves of God’s lavish provision and looking forward to our eternal home.
So What?
Some of you will have huge struggles with issues of food, guilt and body image. Can I say to you God knows and he loves you. You are his child and he longs to see you free and whole. He loves you and has given you a church family to help you, to demonstrate his love to you, and to apply the gospel to you if you will trust them. Ask them to pray for you, to care for you, to walk this hard path with you. Because Jesus alone can free you from that struggle, but he uses people in relationship to you who will help you. By all means share it with someone tonight, someone who will come with you to speak to a church leader and who will pray for you.
For all of us the implication of Genesis 1 is that God has made us for community, for relationships and he has given us food to facilitate that. And God didn’t create Pot Noodle trees he made a world much bigger and tastier than that. He gave us an astonishing variety of tastes, textures and smells in which to see his love. Buy a recipe book or get on line and download one, and try God’s goodness to you.
But don’t do it in isolation. Food is God’s good gift to facilitate relationship. So get others round cooking with you, talk as you prepare, talk as you enjoy, talk as you wash up together. Use it to deepen already existing relationships.
But also use it to build new ones – how many here are 2nd or 3rd years? How many are 1st years? Build new relationships, invite these guys round for a meal, prepare together, eat together, wash up together.
Use it to advance the kingdom. When you read the early chapters of Acts you notice something, they didn’t do big mission events, yet the church grew? How? Because people saw their love, people saw their relationships, their being in and out of others homes, and by implication they were invited in to share it. Why not have a 50:50 meal? 2 people from CU, 2 people from the sports team you play for or your course, or your house mates? Food is God’s good gift to facilitate relationships, to experience his goodness, and to point others to him.
But God redeems food for us in Christ. It isn’t an accident that the means of remembering our salvation is a meal. And as Jesus sat down with his disciples it isn’t to a cube of bread or a wafer and a thimble or mouth full of wine. It’s part of a lavish celebration feast. The New Testament church carried on that tradition, a celebration meal at which communion was part. Why? Because it was part of a bigger picture of the wedding feast of Christ and his bride when he returns.
Eating is a sign of relationship and welcome in Jesus. It is a way of building community, reminding ourselves of God’s lavish provision and looking forward to our eternal home.
So What?
Some of you will have huge struggles with issues of food, guilt and body image. Can I say to you God knows and he loves you. You are his child and he longs to see you free and whole. He loves you and has given you a church family to help you, to demonstrate his love to you, and to apply the gospel to you if you will trust them. Ask them to pray for you, to care for you, to walk this hard path with you. Because Jesus alone can free you from that struggle, but he uses people in relationship to you who will help you. By all means share it with someone tonight, someone who will come with you to speak to a church leader and who will pray for you.
For all of us the implication of Genesis 1 is that God has made us for community, for relationships and he has given us food to facilitate that. And God didn’t create Pot Noodle trees he made a world much bigger and tastier than that. He gave us an astonishing variety of tastes, textures and smells in which to see his love. Buy a recipe book or get on line and download one, and try God’s goodness to you.
But don’t do it in isolation. Food is God’s good gift to facilitate relationship. So get others round cooking with you, talk as you prepare, talk as you enjoy, talk as you wash up together. Use it to deepen already existing relationships.
But also use it to build new ones – how many here are 2nd or 3rd years? How many are 1st years? Build new relationships, invite these guys round for a meal, prepare together, eat together, wash up together.
Use it to advance the kingdom. When you read the early chapters of Acts you notice something, they didn’t do big mission events, yet the church grew? How? Because people saw their love, people saw their relationships, their being in and out of others homes, and by implication they were invited in to share it. Why not have a 50:50 meal? 2 people from CU, 2 people from the sports team you play for or your course, or your house mates? Food is God’s good gift to facilitate relationships, to experience his goodness, and to point others to him.
Why not serve others in need, by together providing food for those around you who are struggling. Showing God's love to them, and talking of him as they ask why you do it.
Do you see the goodness and love of God, do you see the gift food is to make Jesus love known.
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