What is Your Meat?

The Lord Jesus during His stopover at the Samaritan city of Sychar told His disciples, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work." (John 4:34) It was an unusual occasion in an unusual location to utter such unusual words.

It was not typical of the Jews to pass through Samaria (located between Galilee and Judea) enroute to and from these two places. They would rather travel a longer distance along the Mediterranean coast or east of Jordan river than to pass through Samaria. Such was the extent of the dislike of the Jews for the Samaritans who were a mixed race of Jews with the Assyrians and Chaldeans.

Here we have the Lord Jesus sitting by the famous well dug by Jacob the patriarch on the parcel of ground that he bought from the sons of Hamor. (Genesis 33:19) It was an unusual location for a Jew to stop by at this place.

It was high noon and Jesus was tired and thirsty. That was the time when most of the people would avoid going out of the house, let alone to draw water. It was an unusual occasion for the Lord to be there at the unusual location but He had a purpose to be there – to reach out to the Samaritan woman who would come to the well to draw water.

The disciples had gone to the nearby town to buy food being about lunchtime. Having bought the food they returned and brought it to the Lord. To their surprise, the Lord said to them, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." (John 4:32) The disciples were somewhat puzzled and reacted thus, "Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought Him ought to eat?" (John 4:33) While they remained puzzled, the Lord told them, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work." What unusual words which must have puzzled the disciples even more!

What exactly did the Lord mean? The purpose of having food is to keep one physically nourished. It keeps body and soul together – physically alive. In other words, the Lord was saying that the purpose of Him being alive was to do the will of the Father Who had sent Him and to finish His work. It tells of His passion in going about to do the work which the Father had sent Him to do – to fulfil the plan of God's salvation for mankind. Jesus was so preoccupied and absorbed with doing the will of the Father that He forgot about His weariness and hunger.

What is the Father's will? He told the disciples, "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." (John 4:35) The field was already ready for harvesting yea, even the field of Samaritans who knew not the Son of God.

The Lord Jesus was ever so passionate for the souls of men under the bondage of sin. He intentionally went to that unusual location on an unusual occasion just to reach out to the Samaritan woman and through her to the rest of that city. Why go through such an extent, you may ask? Because Jesus saw the preciousness of every individual soul which is lost in sin and perishing into eternal condemnation. He had a deep sense of urgency. It was time to bring in the harvest.

Such was His passion that He was determined to do the Father's will and to finish it – physical food was therefore unimportant to Him. Consider Him Who was willing and determined to go all the way to the cross to purchase our redemption. He knew the shame, the pain and loneliness which would accompany such a course of action. But He was willing to humble Himself and be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Hebrews 12:2 describes His passion like so, "Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." The depth of His passion is further described in the next verse that He "endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself." (Hebrews 12:3)

Dearly beloved, what is your meat? What occupies your mind? What is your passion? What is your priority in life? Is it to know the will of God and do it? The Lord has given us the example par excellence – the example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself. This is what He meant when He tells us that we ought to take up the cross and deny ourselves in following Him. John the Baptizer makes it plain when he said, "He (Christ) must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)

Do you know God's will for your life? Spend much time with the Lord, read His Word daily and meditate on it. Remember His promise in Psalm 1:2-3, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." And coupled with much prayer and dependence upon the Spirit's enabling, seek to know and do His will as set out for us in Holy Scriptures. And by His grace be faithful to the end, looking at Jesus as our perfect example. Be passionate about reaching out to lost souls for Christ and give Him your utmost in service. There will be no regrets!

Rather, there would be reward for Jesus assures us in His own words, "And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Revelation 22:12)

Resolve that at any time should the Lord return or should He call you home to glory, you can echo the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

"Only one life to offer,
Take it, dear Lord, I pray;
Nothing from Thee withholding,
Thy will I now obey.
Thou who hast freely given
Thine all in all for me,
Claim this life for Thine own,
To be used, my Saviour,
Every moment for Thee."

Adopted from Heart-to-Heart Chat,
Written by Elder Frederick Lan.