If I ask you to close your eyes and think of a meal that you have cooked for or ate with your family in this past week, would you be able to name the dishes and picture how each of your family members were seated around the dinning table? You probably would coz it is something you have done regularly. May be what surfaced in your mind was the meal that just took place last night. You may even recall the conversation that took place over the dinner. What if on the similar subject, but instead of the physical food, I ask you to think of a time when you had prepared a spiritual meal and partook with your family together, can you recall the what, when, where, and how of the event? What did you talk about?
I am a children's pastor with two children. All along, I feel that I have been quite intentional in helping my kids grow spiritually. It was not until I read an example from Chip Ingram's book "True Spirituality," that made me realized I might have been running on an ineffective runway, and I need to switch the focus. Here is the excerpt of that part.
I was recently talking with a friend about a documentary he just watched with his children. Someone decided to test the quality of food in one of America's most famous fast-food restaurants. The thirty-day plan was to eat nothing but fast food morning, noon, and evening. Tests were done prior to the experiment and would be done after the experiment to evaluate levels of fat, triglycerides, weight gain, and overall health.
Unfortunately the experiment did not last thirty days. After twenty or so days of a steady diet of only fast food, the man's body began to shut down. The high-sugar, high-fat, fried, and processed food began to build up toxins to such a degree that he had to be hospitalized. Ironically the food tasted great; tragically it almost killed him. --- p.77
I have heard of this experiment before, but on the healthy diet context. When Ingram drew the parallel with the spiritual diet, it caught my attention. It speaks to me in great volume because I happen to be a mom who loves cooking and baking. There were times when I chose to spend hours and hours in the kitchen in order to prepare homey, yummy and healthy food for my family. Even though the hours of preparation would be consumed in just minutes, I feel it is all worth it.
When I was reading that chapter, I asked myself, "If I am willing to spend so much time to take care of my family's physical diet, what am I doing to prepare their home-cooked spiritual diet?" Yes, I have sent my kids to church programs. We pray and do devotions together here and there. But is that enough? If statistics tell us that many youth choose to walk away from the spiritual path when they step into college, what can I do here and now to prepare healthy spiritual diet that can sustain my children for a stable and intimate walk with the Lord?
Ingram continues in the chapter,
Although they have their place and benefits when properly understood, church attendance and church programs are unable in and of themselves to produce lasting life changes. No, supernatural transformation is rooted in our spiritual diet. The battleground for your soul is in your mind . . . The gate to your heart is your mind. The most important decision you make every day is what you allow to go into your mind! . . . life change--genuine spiritual maturity--is not the result of external self-effort, but a supernatural process that flows from the inside out. -- p.78
With this realization, I started off this year with the determination to prepare home-cooked spiritual meals for my family. And I would share more in the coming weeks on how I prepare those meals and how we partake together as a family. Hope you would find them helpful and be inspired to do the same.