That’s where it all starts in the
digestive system that our Lord chose to give us. We see or smell food and it starts the saliva
flowing in our mouths; it mixes with the food we chew and helps aid
digestion. Once broken up and softened,
the food moves down our esophagus into the stomach which: stores the food,
breaks it down, and slowly empties it into small intestine using strong wall
muscles and gastric juices.
There, with help from three friends-
pancreas, liver and gallbladder, it is broken down more so nutrients can be absorbed into your blood (which then
feeds your body). From the small
intestine to blood can take up to four hours.
The nutrient rich blood then goes to the liver which filters bad things
out, decides where nutrients go and sends the waste to the large intestine- and
you know where it goes from there!
They say we can help our digestive
system by eating healthy, rich in fiber foods and drinking lots of water. Not other liquids, just lots of water!!! Without a digestive system, we couldn’t get
the nutrients we need to grow properly and stay healthy. (Info summary from
kidshealth.org website) Ponder these
verses that relate food to the Word of God:
How sweet are Your
Words to my taste! More than honey to my mouth! Ps. 119:103
Your Words were found, and I ate them; and Your Word was to me the joy and gladness of my
heart… Jr. 15:16
desire the sincere
(pure) milk of the Word, as newborn
babes, so that you may grow by it; 1Pt. 2:2
For everyone partaking
of milk is unskillful in the Word of Righteousness… But solid food belongs to those who are of full
age, even those who because of use
have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hb. 5:13,14
Ezekiel and John both had to eat scrolls given by the Lord (Ez. 3:1-3; Rv. 10:9)
So the Lord Himself uses food as a
metaphor for ‘eating’ the Word for nourishment.
If we put that in context of our digestive system, that means having our
appetites whetted for the Word by what we hear, share, and see. That will get our spiritual juices
flowing. As we read, study and meditate
on the Word, we begin ‘breaking down’ and swallowing the food getting it inside
our stomachs where it breaks down further.
Three friends help (Father, Son, and Spirit) help us by making the
nutrients more absorbable into our blood to feed our bodies- making us healthy,
strong and encouraging spiritual growth.
What happens if we eat mostly junk food
(hear, share, see mostly ungodly or worldly things) or neglect to drink enough
pure water? (Ep. 5:26) Our body has
nothing healthy to digest and nourish us.
Starving ourselves of the nutrition of the Word is a sure path to
spiritual death. What we need to consume
is healthy, rich in ‘solid food’ and pure water. That will give us the most nutrient packed
bang into our ‘blood’ in order to promote growth.
Let us be thankful that we have an
abundance of good food to eat here and enjoy every healthy meal of the Word we
can get. People in some countries cannot
even own a Bible which must seem to them as a famine, “Behold, the days come,
says the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land; not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of
hearing the Words of Jehovah.” (Am. 8:11)
We should not starve ourselves when we have a plentiful supply of food
to eat, so let's get that spiritual nutrition flowing in our blood- for the advance
of God’s kingdom and His glory!
Think on this: Ten years from now
it won’t matter if you remember what you ate today, but it will matter that you
were nourished enough for health and growth.