EAT WHAT I GIVE YOU

GOD PLANTED A GARDEN

God planted a garden, eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. (Gen. 2:8). Life was simple and the setting serene. No concrete jungles or pressing deadlines or sickness filled this paradise. The Lord God had set up an environment with the perfect conditions for the care and keeping of the Man, the Woman, and their bodies. Every element they would require, including the food they needed to keep those bodies healthy and stay alive was given to them as the herbs and the fruit that grew on the trees of the garden. And because the preservation of life is of great importance, God took great care to instruct the Man and the Woman “eat what I give you”.

Food preparation would be as simple as picking and eating. Everything was raw and kitchens and cookbooks were unnecessary. Eating would be enjoyable and as effortless as breathing. The command given to Adam and Eve to eat the fruit and the green herb is the same command God has given to us, passed down through the same Word He gave them. It was not intended to limit our freedom or control our eating habits but to protect us.

EAT WHAT I GIVE YOU

God was not trying to stifle us or infringe upon our free will any more than the manufacturer of your car is trying to restrict your use of the car by issuing certain usage warnings or recommending maintenance procedures. These procedures are given as a means to enhance the life and performance of the vehicle in its service to you, not control you. 

As a matter of fact, most of us take the manufacturer’s instructions in caring for our cars and lawn mowers more seriously than those given to maintain our own body. And even if we choose to disregard his advice, we would not be offended with the manufacturer for “messing” with our free will or charge him with not knowing what he was talking about. 

Such is often not the case with the Creator of heaven and earth. Many choose to disregard His Words, if indeed, we acknowledge Him at all. Some of us take for granted the gift of life and the body He gave us to the point of self-destruction. Some of us drive it into the ground, (literally) through neglect or intentional abuse. Others indulge their appetites making their bodies the instrument of self-gratification and their belly their god. 

The trouble is many of us do not realize how fearfully and wonderfully we have been made or how serious this “eating thing” is, until something goes wrong and it is too late. For the wise, the severity of the matter strikes us when we realize that this is the only body I will get, and it is the same body I will live in every day for the rest of my earthly life. 

See, I have given you every green herb that yields seed, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

Genesis 1:29

HOW DO YOU TREAT YOUR BODY?

But, even in our ignorance God has made a provision in anticipation of those things that would target the body to destroy it. He gave us the amazing immune system to defend us and disarm invaders, the faithful detoxifying systems to purify and renew cells, and the incredible communication systems to keep the body connected. All parts work together as one to preserve our life. The Body provides us the house we live in; a place where our life is sustained in the trillions of functions and interactions done every day without our conscious awareness. It is the sacred place of human habitation where I live; a place that is able to recover and heal itself if given the elements needed to do so.

Our food is an important part of that defense system and plays a vital part in protecting us from disease and provides the energy we need to conduct the business of life. God has commanded and created every kind of system and function inside of the human body to address any kind of issue from cell repair to the removal of toxins. He has also designed us with great agility to be able to do work, to adapt to adverse conditions, store fuel, defend ourselves and be in relationship with Him.

Truly, our bodies are a testimony to God’s great workmanship and understanding of architectural design in His anticipation of the many adverse and difficult conditions we would face. In all fairness, however, we must know there are limits to this miraculous mixture of mud and water beyond which the body will not function well. Those limits end in the place where it can no longer perform its life operations. That place begins with lack of good food and ends with disease and death. 

THE ORIGINAL PLAN FOR MAN AND HIS BODY

Sickness and disease were not part of the original plan operating in the Garden of God. Obesity and heart disease and addiction to toxic chemicals came as part of the curse. And though God knew the adversity our bodies would be subjected to and the critical part food would play in the maintenance of the body, He allowed us a great deal of creativity in the choosing and combining of those foods. His lavish supply of colors and textures and tastes was generous beyond what was necessary to make sure everyone would have lots of good things to eat. Who would ever have thought we would find so many excuses and make so many complaints about eating the food God made? 

“And the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Gen. 2:16-17

But, even in our ignorance God has made a provision in anticipation of those things that would target the body to destroy it. He gave us the amazing immune system to defend us and disarm invaders, the faithful detoxifying systems to purify and renew cells, and the incredible communication systems to keep the body connected. All parts work together as one to preserve our life. The Body provides us the house we live in; a place where our life is sustained in the trillions of functions and interactions done every day without our conscious awareness. It is the sacred place of human habitation where I live; a place that is able to recover and heal itself if given the elements needed to do so.

Our food is an important part of that defense system and plays a vital part in protecting us from disease and provides the energy we need to conduct the business of life. God has commanded and created every kind of system and function inside of the human body to address any kind of issue from cell repair to the removal of toxins. He has also designed us with great agility to be able to do work, to adapt to adverse conditions, store fuel, defend ourselves and be in relationship with Him.

Truly, our bodies are a testimony to God’s great workmanship and understanding of architectural design in His anticipation of the many adverse and difficult conditions we would face. In all fairness, however, we must know there are limits to this miraculous mixture of mud and water beyond which the body will not function well. Those limits end in the place where it can no longer perform its life operations. That place begins with lack of good food and ends with disease and death. 

For more information see the “Cravings” book.