Eat the Word of God
You have heard the expression, "I will make you eat your words!" It means, "I will make you live by the consequences of what you have said, regret what you have said, show you that you should not have said those words."
Jesus Christ invites us to eat the Word of God and live. He is the Word of God made flesh. He invites us to eat the Word of God -- to consume the power, nature and substance of the Word of God through faith and have eternal life.
Eat the Word of God? Yes. Sometimes God told the prophets to eat scrolls that He had written the Word on (Ezekiel 3:1-5; Revelation 10:8-10). Before you go chomping on pages of your Bible, think about what God is saying. He calls you to consume the Word of God, to trust completely in Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. Let the Word of God fill you with forgiveness, life and salvation. God’s Word will direct, sustain us and save you.
All of us have to ‘eat our words’ from time to time. But, if you eat the Word of God, you will live forever, not in shame, but in the glory and righteousness of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. That means grace, mercy, and eternal peace for you.
Jesus told the Jews (John 6:47-51 ESV): "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This [my flesh] is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
Eat the Word through reading it. Eat the Word through hearing it preached. Eat the Word through Holy Communion. Eat the Word through faith and live eternally. Amen.
Pastor Raymond Van Buskirk, Redeemer Lutheran Church,
Baytown, TX