THE TRUE FOOD

199th Meditation

 

“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work” (Jn 4:34).

Our Lord’s word is a clear guide for us. Doing the Will of the Father is not only the food for Jesus, but for all of us. Only this food truly satisfies us, because it introduces us to the primordial meaning of our existence.

By His Will, the Father called us to life, redeemed us and will bring us to fulfilment. These simple facts give us the light to live according to God’s truth.

The Will of our Heavenly Father is pure love. Could our Father, who also wishes to be our friend and confidant, want anything for us that is not for our good? He Himself is love (1Jn 4,8), and everything comes from this source, and nothing can defile it. From it comes our life, for love nourishes all areas of our existence.

In following Jesus, we too are invited to consciously co-operate in the work of the Father. If day by day we wholeheartedly strive to do the Father’s will, we become instruments of His love.

And if our words and our witness are in accordance with God’s Will, they can even become food for others. They will taste the goodness and wisdom of God, and they will set out to find the only food that can truly satisfy them.

“Here I am, I am coming.’ In the scroll of the book it is written of me, my delight is to do your will; your law, my God, is deep in my heart” (Ps 39:8-9) – so exclaims King David, inviting us too to find our delight in God’s Will and in seeking His law.

Who of us would disdain good food? If even in our earthly reality food delights us and wine cheers our hearts (cf. Ps 103:15), how much more will the food that lasts for eternal life! Our Father has prepared for us both the one and the other.

He wants us to live, and if we do His Will we will have life to the full. “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10) – so says the divine Redeemer. And so it is!