I like food. A lot. Due to lactose intolerance, I also know what it's like to live without some of my favorite foods - think pizza, ice cream, milk, cheese, etc. Substitutes are ok, but never quite as good as the real thing. Interesting that God's word describes the blessings of God's people as a feast. "On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined" (Isaiah 25:6). The blessings of the gospel feast include freedom, forgiveness, the righteousness of Christ, peace with God, adoption as sons of God, and ultimately the reality pictured by the feast is heaven itself, where the Lamb is all the glory. These blessings are ours only through the work of that Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
With real food, you can overeat; you can be a glutton; you can make yourself sick. But at this feast, it's impossible to have too much of Jesus and the blessings he supplies. Are you feasting? Daily, like you do with real food? We must be! This Jesus also calls us to live for him. We are given his righteousness, and called to righteousness. So when Jesus told a parable about a king (God) inviting people to the royal wedding feast of his son, he mentioned an interesting character. There was one who responded to the invitation, but came without the proper wedding attire. He was thrown out. Forever. I believe this is the man who would like to claim the righteousness of Christ, but cares little for living in righteousness by the power of Christ. There's no fruit to show for his professed faith; he was a hypocrite. You can claim to feast all you want, but if the feast doesn't transform your life, you're not feasting on the real Jesus. You no doubt, are a discerning eater. It won't take much for you to tell the difference between a pizza made with real mozzarella and a pizza made with soy cheese (what I eat). God is discerning as well. He knows the difference between a true believer in Jesus who loves him and longs to live for him and a hypocrite who can talk about gospel and Jesus all day, but who has no fruit. Are you feasting on the real thing?
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When I quote Scripture In this blog, unless otherwise indicated, the quotations are usually from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission.
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