[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during August 2020]
How many of you enjoyed a full English breakfast this morning? Is that combination of toast (or preferably fried bread), eggs and bacon, sausage, tomato, beans, mushrooms and black pudding a regular part of your diet or something special for Sundays? Perhaps it’s just a distant memory or does the mere thought give you indigestion?
Do not feel guilty about the indulgence – in April 2010 the ‘Daily Mail’ published an article which argued that “starting the morning with a fatty meal may boost the metabolism for the rest of the day and prime the body to burn fat more efficiently”. So let’s look a bit more closely.
The bread comes from wheat. We recall the words of Jesus when He said “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” God the Father provides our daily bread; we die to ourselves in Christ and the Holy Spirit can multiply our witness 30-fold, 60-fold or 100-fold.
Eggs are a by-product of the hens’ natural functions. In most cases they are infertile and are useless for producing a new generation of fowl. They are surplus, even a waste product, but we like them. They are also Trinitarian – shell, albumen and yoke, a useful aide-memoire.
The production of mushrooms is associated with darkness and decay but they have great nutritional value. We have been saved from darkness and decay, to become light and salt for those around us. Meanwhile, beans supply valuable proteins but they also have an unfortunate reputation. Are you contributing to the well-being of God’s people, or simply generating hot air?
Tomatoes come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours, representing a global diversity. They grow on vines. Jesus said “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener … Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” [John 15 v1,4]
Are you receiving nourishment from the True Vine?
The sausage could be beef or turkey, or even that artificial stuff, but the bacon incurs a sacrifice. The pig lost his life-blood to provide the bacon and the black pudding. This reminds us of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made, giving his life-blood for our salvation.
Is breakfast just a meal that sets you up for the day? Or more than that?
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
