Jesus was pro food, right?

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

January seems to bring New Years Resolutions and diets. For years I’d start a diet after the holidays. Year after year, diet after diet—I’ve done just about every diet out there. Although I worked hard trying to loose weight and eat healthy, I did it all wrong. I was fat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, pesticide-free, chemical-free, dye-free,  but unfortunately I was also eating Jesus-free.

When I really started examining my endless cycles of diets, and where I was going wrong, I went back to the Bible. I mean, Jesus was pro food, right? I’ve read the entire book so I know He talked about food a lot. A lot. From being tempted in the desert with bread to the many meals Jesus shared with Mary, Martha, Zacchaeus and numerous Pharisees.

Even His miracles included food. Remember his first miracle? When He turned water into wine? It happened at a wedding feast. Feast=food! (John 2:1-11). Then there was the miracle where He fed over 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Yum. (Mark 6:30-44). And of course the miracle when the tired disciples finally catch an extraordinary amount of fish (Luke 5:1-7).

Perhaps Jesus’ most important illustration with food is the Passover. As He ate a meal with the disciples, Jesus explained what would happen when He died on the cross. Today this is still a passionate practice as we partake in Communion, or the Lord’s Supper (see Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-39; John 13:1–17:26).

Even though these food experiences was well over 2000 years ago, Jesus’ still wants to be included in our food choices. His desire is for us to make healthy choices when it comes to eating. So before you pop that extra slice of bread in your mouth or dive into that pie, remember that although Jesus is pro food, He does ask us to make the right choices.