As a very busy bachelor, the microwave is possible my mostest favoritest appliance.
Don’t get me wrong, I like central heat and air. And I like my stereo and hot water. The microwave comes in a close second to my iMac, but that’s not a fair comparison. After all, my Mac – well, she’s pretty and extremely functional. The nuker can cook, but that’s pretty much it. But if it wasn’t for the nuker, I would not eat nearly as well as I do.
I’m certainly not alone. As a society, there has been a radical shift over the past couple of decades. A shift towards prepared and packaged foods. As I walk down the freezer aisle at the grocery store, I see shelf after shelf full of complete meals in a box, entrees, snacks, breakfasts, family meals, and more. We want healthy. We want it to taste good. And we want it done yesterday.
But the power to cook foods quickly is not nearly the most amazing feat in life.
To be quite honest, I suspect that the way a pansy grows is more of a deep mystery of God than how little tiny bits of electromagnetic radiation can make food hot. Sure, it may take a little longer to grow food and prepare it. But I suspect it’s worth it.
Cooking a meal can be an expression of love. It can be a healing experience. It can take a meal from a utilitarian requirement for food to an experience with friends.
And it can be a learning experience. We can learn about nutrition. We can know what actually went into the food we’re eating.
So it is with our spiritual lives. There are prepackaged spiritual meals – inspirational books, devotionals, and so on. There’s nothing wrong with using a devotional – I use one too. But don’t forget that the point of all of this “stuff” is a real, deep, meaningful, abiding love relationship with God.
Spend time with him. Spend time in the word. Spend time in nature. Let him into your movie-watchin’ time. Let him direct you in service. Let him be your milk, bread, wine, meat, and more.
