Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. John 4:34
In this verse, Jesus told His disciples that His food was to do the will of Him that sent Him and to finish His work. To understand what Jesus intended for His disciples to comprehend, it will be necessary to find out what food does to the body. The Oley foundation newsletter had this to say about food; "Eating can be defined as the consumption of food and liquid to sustain life and to meet our body's basic needs for growth, development, and function." From this we see that food functions to keep the body in vital health. When, therefore, Jesus said that doing the will of God was His food, He was simply saying that doing the will of God did for Him what eating food does to one's physical well-being: providing the basic needs for His growth, development, and function.
If this was what doing the will of God meant to Jesus, should it be less for us who are called to follow after His steps? Doing the will of God being the food of Jesus did not mean that He did not eat physical food, but rather that doing the will of God was priority for Him, and it should be for us too. Jesus lived a purpose driven life, and as His followers, we are to live likewise. His God-given purpose was the most important thing for Him, and He put all of His being into fulfilling it.
In Jesus Christ we see true commitment to purpose. His food was not only to do the will of the One who sent Him, but also to finish that work. There is no half measure with Jesus, whatsoever He began, He was also committed to finishing it, and on the cross, He perfectly finished that work. Praise God!
Toni
