FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Thirst Things First”

I love my cooking shows!  Truly, when I watch TV, it’s about all I watch, and my favorites are the competitions.  The mix of new cooking techniques, suspenseful judgings, and delicious end products ticks every box for me.  I am especially drawn to contestants with interesting stories.  

One of my favorites is a twenty-something who still lives with his mom, and eats nothing but grilled cheese, plain hamburgers, boxed mac n’ cheese, and pepperoni pizza.  That’s. It.  That may sound like a fabulous diet to some of you, but even as young as twenty-five, this guy has figured out that trying to live on these foods alone has had a negative impact on his health and therefore his life.  He confesses that he doesn’t want to eat like a five year old anymore.  (Hey, my five year old eats way better than that!) His purpose for coming on the cooking show was to try to learn how to cook and improve his quality of life.  

What about you?  Do you enjoy eating unusual food or are you a plain hamburger kind of person?  What’s the most unique thing you’ve ever eaten?  

In John 4:27-38, Jesus talks with the disciples about food.  After a day of traveling, the disciples ran into town to try to find a drive-thru while Jesus rested at the well just outside of town.  This is where Jesus met the Samaritan woman and had a great conversation about living water.  But now the guys are back with burgers and fries and are a little confused to see Jesus chatting up this lady.  They wait a little awkwardly for her to leave, wanting to give Jesus the food they know He’s been waiting for.  

After she returns to town, however, the disciples are shocked when Jesus refuses the to-go bag.  Instead, He says, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started.” (v. 34 Msg)  Um…what?  Did someone already bring Him food?

What Jesus means is that doing what God wants (“the will of the One who sent me”) is what really fires Him up.  His drive, His inner fuel and motivation is knowing the Lord’s will and getting it done, like sharing God’s grace with the Samaritan woman.  It’s what fills Jesus up inside and makes Him happy and content.

What about you?  To be honest, most of us find our inner fuel in “five year old” things: playing, hanging with friends, sports, job success.  The food that keeps us going is having fun doing what we want.  Eventually, however, we figure out that trying to live on these things has a negative impact on our hearts and therefore our lives.  Jesus is showing us that focusing on God’s mission—being missional—is way better.  It’s so much more fulfilling to care for someone in need, the way Jesus would, than it is to simply care for ourselves.  It improves someone else’s quality of life…and after life…and it makes us better, too.  Win-win!

What can you and your family do to live on mission?  How can you focus your time on God’s will?  What will help you make that a priority over some of the others fun things in life?  Think of one thing you can do this week to be missional.  Put it on the calendar or make a big sign to remind everybody and get excited about it!  Then pray and ask God to fuel you all with his mission.