Toast

Proverbs 13:25
The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

I am overjoyed knowing who I am in Christ. It makes reading the Bible much more rewarding. Because I am made righteous in Christ according to His word (2 Corinthians 5:21), then I am free to substitute myself in wherever the Bible generically refers to “the righteous”. And how do I know I am free to do that? Well, the Bible gives me that authority as well (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Now that I’ve laid the foundation, let’s get into this.

In John 6 Jesus refers to Himself as the bread of life. He boldly states that whoever comes to Him will never go hungry and will never go thirsty. So what do we do with that? It seems to me that a lot of times we go to Christ and take away only some crumbs from the bread, rather than taking the whole loaf. It’s our humanness that causes us to do to that. When we do that, we aren’t living into what Christ has told us.

Imagine, if you will, making some toast. Some beautifully buttered, slathered in jelly, perfectly golden, whole grain, nutritious toast. Now are you only going to eat the crumbs left on the counter? Of course not! You are going to put that toast on a plate and carry it with you into the other room, where you’ll sit comfortably in your favorite chair, savoring each and every bite. And if you’re like me, you’ll probably lick the crumbs off the plate when you’re done. (That’s a whole different lesson.)

Anyway, Jesus is our perfect toast. (No intended offense to His awesomeness referring to Christ as toast, it’s just a metaphor.) He is all that we want, could want, or ever will want, but all too often we satisfy ourselves with only crumbs of His Grace. Why do we do that? We fail to take all that He has offered to us. We live under the law that we’re not worthy to receive more than His crumbs, but we forget that He came to give us life, abundant life. Yes, it’s true that we aren’t worthy, but if we were waiting to be worthy of a Savior, we’d never have gotten one. That’s the point of Grace and Jesus dying on the cross.

Brothers and sisters, we are righteous, and according to this Proverb, we eat to the satisfying of our souls. This verb “eat” is in the present tense meaning that we can have it now! It doesn’t say “the righteous will eat to the satisfying of his soul when...” but rather “eats”. Is your soul satisfied with crumbs from the Bread of Life? Or does it desire more? If you desire more, eat more until your soul is satisfied!

But wait, there’s more! The stomach of the wicked is in want. Who are the wicked? Those who have yet to believe. This verse isn’t referring to the Hitlers or the Manson family (the worldly wicked); it’s speaking of those who don’t yet know Christ. They are in want of a Savior. They are in need of satisfaction. Knowing that, we can deliver. We Christians are the dispensers of Christ’s nourishment. We need to bring His Grace to those who have yet to receive it, but first we have to be fully satisfied. So, fill yourself with the blessings of Christ’s grace. Live into His unmerited favor, enjoy the abundant life that He has promised you. And in so doing, offer the nutrition that the wicked so desperately want!