Feed Them!

 

Photo by User:Mattes 2015

Imagine that a couple you recently met invite you and your spouse to spend the evening at their home. You accept, looking forward to getting to know them better. Assuming this is a dinner invitation, you and your spouse eat an early and light lunch on the appointed day. You both dress nicely, arrange for a sitter for your children, and purchase a lovely bouquet of flowers for your hosts.

When you arrive, they greet you warmly, ask you inside, hang up your coats, thank you for the flowers and arrange them in a vase. They give you a tour of their house and invite you to sit down in their cozy living room.

But they don’t offer you anything to eat or drink! After an hour or so of pleasant conversation, you start to feel very hungry and a little light-headed, and you’re embarrassed because your spouse’s stomach is growling loudly!

Suddenly your hosts stand up, thank you for coming, and tell you how much they enjoyed your visit. Seeing this as a clear signal that it’s time to leave, you awkwardly scramble to your feet, thank them for a pleasant evening, and make your way to the door. Once in the car, you and your spouse exchange puzzled looks and rush to the nearest fast-food restaurant!

Despite your hosts’ kind invitation and hospitality, they neglected to feed you! This scenario seems ludicrous, but it may hold a warning for our Christian life. Once we are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), it is our blessing, privilege and responsibility to lead others to Him.

Like the woman at the well (John 4:28-29;39), many of us take the first step, telling others of how Christ changed our life and of how they too can be saved. But once someone makes a profession of faith, do we feed them by teaching them God’s Word as Jesus commanded in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), encouraging them to read their Bible, discipling them, or at least inviting them to church?

Once a newly saved person goes to church, what sort of welcome will they receive? Many churches offer new visitors a warm greeting at the door, a good seat suggested by an usher, and perhaps a tour of the church facilities. But will those in attendance be fed with the milk and meat of God’s Word (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12), or will they hear a “feel good” message laden with platitudes but without substance? Will the church rely on Biblical preaching to encourage faithful attendance, or on worldly entertainment, giveaways, and a fancy coffee bar?

When someone prays the Sinner’s Prayer in our presence, whether one-on-one, at church, through street preaching, or at a revival or evangelical outreach, what happens next?  Is there follow up with individual mentoring and discipleship, or at least referral to a local Bible-believing church?

Evangelist Paul Washer once explained his heart for new converts and his fear that the seed of God’s Word sowed in their heart might not take root (Matthew 13:18-23). Whenever possible, he spends hours, often spread out over days, listening to a newly saved person’s questions and answering them from God’s Word.

Jesus not only saves us (Acts 4:12), but He keeps us, sustaining us (Psalm 3:5; 55:22) with spiritual as well as physical food (Psalm 37:25; Matthew 6:11, 25-26). After preaching to the masses, He fed them with the miracles of the loaves and fishes, so that their satisfied bodies could absorb further spiritual truth (Matthew 14:19).

When Jesus raised a young girl from physical death, He did not immediately rush off to resume His busy schedule, but first made sure she was given something to eat (Mark 5:41-43). After His resurrection and during His third appearance to His disciples in His resurrected body, He provided a haul of fish and cooked a delicious meal for them before He showed His forgiveness and continued plans for Peter (John 21:5-22).

James warned us that if we see someone who is hungry, it is not enough to tell them to be fed, but we must provide food for them (James 2:15-18). While he was referring to acts of charity – the works by which we prove our faith to others – his admonition also has spiritual applications.

When Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, Peter answered “yes” three times (once for each time he had denied his Lord). And what were Jesus Christ’s last instructions for Peter? If you love me, feed My sheep (repeated twice), and feed my lambs (John 21:15-17).

If we love our Savior, may we make sure to feed His flock, both physically and spiritually!

© 2024 Laurie Collett