Each day, as we sit down to have some quiet time with God & we open up His Word, we receive spiritual “food” from what we read in the Scriptures. This could be compared to having Door Dash deliver fresh food to our doorstep every single day … for free! God’s Word is available to “feed” us every single day … for free! All we have to do is open it up and read it.
Now imagine that one day the free “Door Dash” delivery shows up with kumquats. What are kumquats?? What do I do with them??
Then the next day a basket of tamarind shows up in the daily delivery of food. What is a tamarind?? Is it a bean?? Do I cook it and eat it like a bean?? I have no idea what to do with this.
Then the next day rambutan shows up. What do I do with this?? How am I supposed to know that the peel of the rambutan is considered toxic??
Then lychees show up the next day …
… then durian – ewwww, it stinks! What do I do with this??
… then jackfruit. How am I supposed to know that jackfruit texture is similar to boiled chicken and that it is referred to as meat fruit. It’s impossible to break through that shell! What do I do with this?? How do I eat it?? How do I prepare it??
Those who are brand-new followers of Jesus Christ perhaps might feel this way when they open up their Bible to have quiet time with God. Some passages of Scripture are straightforward and easy to understand … much like receiving a delicious loaf of bread in the daily “Door Dash” delivery.
One day a “baguette” arrives.
Then the next day fresh hot “Nan” arrives.
Then the next day flaky “croissants” arrive.
Then one day, during quiet time with God, a passage of Scripture makes no sense whatsoever – much like receiving tamarind. “What is this?? What does this passage of Scripture mean?? I am so confused! What do I do with this?? How does this apply to my life??”
And much like I would probably just stand in my kitchen puzzling what to do with jackfruit … and making vain attempts to cut through the hard outer shell … so also, many times this is where we find ourselves in our study of God’s Word.
Hubby and I support several Compassion International children. Our Compassion kids live in parts of the world where they are very familiar with tamarind … so much so, that they draw pictures of tamarind on their letters which they write to us. They are very familiar with durian and jackfruit. In fact, they love to eat these fruits! These are very normal and everyday common foods for them.
It helps to know someone who is familiar with a food which we have never seen before. They can explain to us what it tastes like, how to cut it, how to prepare it, how not to eat the peeling, etc. etc. …
This is why we go to church.
Perhaps you might have found yourself wondering at times: “Why Church?? Why do I need to go to church if I can just read my Bible at home and learn what God has for me at home without all the hassle and drama??”
Church is like … a spiritual “cooking class.”
When we go to church, our pastor opens up the Word of God and pulls out one of those confusing passages which we found ourselves puzzling over at home. Just like holding up a rambutan, our pastor explains the passage. Just like warning of the dangers of eating the peel of the rambutan, our pastor warns us of the dangers of how this passage could be misinterpreted. Just like showing us how to peel and eat a rambutan, our pastor helps us understand how to make sense of the confusing passage of Scripture.
This is why we go to church! This right here is why we go to church!
But it’s not just the “Sermon” time with our pastor which helps us understand what to do with certain confusing “foods” of Scripture. Small group Bible studies are also hugely helpful!
In our small group Bible studies we get together with others and discuss the confusing “food” of Scripture. Some in our small group Bible study might be like mine & hubby’s Compassion kids, who are very familiar with tamarind. The ones in our small group might know exactly what that confusing “food” of Scripture is talking about.
And so … as we sit around together, they explain to us how much they have been “fed” (spiritually speaking) with that particular “food” of Scripture. They explain to us how to break it down, how to open it up, and how to enjoy it.
In turn, we have a chance to ask our questions and share our struggles. We can share how we tried to cut the hard outer shell of the jackfruit this way, but it wouldn’t work.
And those in our small group Bible study can help us! They can suggest opening the hard shell this other way instead.
They can make suggestions for scooping out mango or avocado with a spoon. Oh wow – that’s so much easier! They can offer recipe suggestions for what to do with mango or avocado. Oh wow – I didn’t know you could make that with avocado! That’s amazing! I didn’t know you could prepare that amazing dish with mangoes! That’s delicious!
For all those confusing aspects of Scripture which we’ve been puzzling over, one-by-one the ”lightbulb” comes on in our head! “Ah-ha!” I get it now!
Week after week we go to church (and small group Bible study) and we learn about all these wonderful spiritual “foods” … as if we are in a spiritual “cooking class.”
Then we head back home, excited to dig deeper into that concept of Scripture! Excited to study it more! Excited to break it apart! Excited to see how it combines together with other passages of Scripture to reach a mind-blowing amazing truth!
This is why we go to church! This right here is why we go to church!
Church helps us become “master chefs” at working with the “food” of God’s Word. Over time we become “skilled in the kitchen” as we learn to create wonderful spiritual “dishes” … which we can then share and “feed” others. It’s amazing! It’s awesome!
Church is like … a spiritual “cooking class”!
