Jesus enjoyed a good meal.
I’m not even guessing here. The Gospel of Luke is filled with stories of Jesus eating.
Check out these examples.
- Dinner with Levi the Tax Collector – Luke 5
- Simon the Pharisee – Luke 7
- 5,000 others – Luke 9
- Mary and Martha – Luke 10
- Disciples – Luke 14
- Zacchaeus – Luke 19
- Disciples – Last Supper – Luke 22
- Dinner in Emmaus and fish with Disciples – Luke 24
And it appears that he did this a lot. Enough, in fact, that those around him accused him of gluttony (Luke 7:34).
For Jesus, it appears that food was more than just a time to take in nourishment, or participate in the joy of consumption. For Jesus, the meal was social. The meal was community. The meal was a chance to invest in others and fulfill his mission.
By my count… I have 21 meals each week. Sometimes I sneak a 22nd or 23rd into my schedule. How many of those meals are had at my desk? How many in my car? How often is breakfast done before my kids wake up, as I run out the door.
What if I took 1 of those 21 meals each week to invest in someone else? What if I followed the example of Jesus and make my meals a chance to fulfill my mission. It doesn’t mean hosting a dinner party each week. Investing in others could look like:
- A breakfast date with one of my daughters… where I listen more than I talk.
- Lunch with a co-worker.. where we aren’t allowed to talk about work.
- Grilling at the park with a neighbor family
- Morning coffee with some guys I’m discipling
- A monthly touch-base with an old friend for prayer.
- Lunch with a few students.
What would it look like if you identified 1 meal each week where you invested in the life of someone else?
