Food For The Soul.3

"Do not work for the food that perishes, 

but for the food that endures to eternal life, 

which the Son of Man will give to you. 

For on him God the Father has set his seal."

--Jesus

Tuesdays and Thursdays are "kill days" at the farm where I work.  Usually on Wednesday afternoon we go out to the "kill cow" herd to select one or two steers for their fate. 

Sometimes we spend an enormous amount of "work" pursuing and capturing the targeted food source.  Because our plant is "USDA Certified" an inspector is on site (he even has his own office in the plant) to ensure that proper procedures are followed that earn the coveted "seal of approval" from the federal government.

Our onsite inspector can be a real pain to work with but

trusting in the USDA seal saves the average consumer a lot of work!  I can hardly imagine the logistical nightmare of having customers coming through the "kill floor" to ensure that their meat purchases are safe!

Nor would the average consumer, without some knowledge of safe meat handling techniques, know what mistakes can cause contamination, sickness and death.

Do you find it as breathtaking as I do how Jesus takes simple concepts we live with daily, even things we take for

granted, like the effort it takes to get our daily sustenance, and uses them to teach us eternal truth?  Think of the enormous freedom we have in trusting Jesus, whom God the Father placed His "seal of approval" on in eliminating the toilsome, even futile, effort to do enough good "work" to earn a spot in His Kingdom.

Since Jesus made it clear that His "food" was to do God's will, it makes perfect sense that the food we ought to work for is learning and doing God's will, following His faithful footsteps to the heart of His father!

Think of what Jesus' seal of approval means for His followers:

• A man's business is to do the will of God
• God takes upon Himself the care of the man
• The God-cared for man must never be afraid of anything
• The God-cared for man is left free to love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself.

"What work,' I ask, 'can that be which will be better done by the greedy or anxious than by the free, fearless soul? Can care be a better inspirer of labor than knowing you are sent by God? If the work is not His work, then indeed, care may well help it, for its success is loss. But is he worthy the name of man who, for the fear of starvation, will do better work than for the joy that his labor is not in vain in the Lord?"  MacDonald, The Complete Works of George MacDonald.

Be free and fearless follower of Jesus to do your work with joy!