I stood staring into our fridge with one thought in mind. My brother-in-law was coming to visit. He has a bit of a reputation for being a little OCD when it comes to fridges. And mine was in dire need of cleaning out. I sighed and started, putting jars and containers that were still good on one counter while pulling the garbage can closer for those things that had been there too long. Like the bowl of left-over spaghetti, the jar of mayo long past its due date and the spicy pickled beans only my husband will eat that were sprouting a growth of light grey fuzz. The garbage can was close to capacity by the time I was finished. I sighed again. I hate throwing food away. If only food wouldn’t spoil, I thought.

A verse in the Bible came to mind – “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27).

I pondered that verse. What is the food that spoils? Possessions, money, fame, even the very paper these words are written on. All of it is fleeting and of little or no significance.

What is the food that endures? Lives changed, people drawn into the kingdom of God, people moved to live according to His purposes.

We are flooded with information from those who would push us to work for the former instead of the latter. We get those messages pouring into our email inboxes, into our living rooms via the TV, and into our brains via social media sites of all kinds. Buy this course and you’ll never have to work at that drudge job again. Spend this money now and be earning six figures a week in no time. Buy this item now and happiness will be yours forever.

But Jesus invites us to work for the food He will give us – food that will give us the purpose, the enthusiasm, the motivation to do His will in the world.

I wonder what His messages would be? Oh right, He’s already sent them. Messages like: “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5).

And then there’s this one: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31).

Good words to keep us focused on what is worth our time, our energy, our passion. Good words to help us focus on our true purpose on this earth.

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

So, have you looked in the fridge of your life lately? Are there a few things in there that need to be tossed out?

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