As we persevere in pursuing meaningful times around the table with our families, we can reflect Christ’s heart for mealtime ministry.

The gospel frees us to share food and fellowship around the table joyfully this holiday season, secure in the ultimate provision of Christ.

As we stop to enjoy the physical nourishment God provides, we see reflections of his greater spiritual provision for us in Christ.

Considering how we feed our children—not just what we feed them—can turn ordinary dinners into an experience of the gospel.

If you’ve ever read passages like 1 Peter 4:9—“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling”—with a pang of guilt, you’re not alone.

Meals can do more than nourish our bodies—they can be an opportunity for the Lord to nourish our souls as we remember what he has done.

There’s no denying we are what we eat; what is your family feasting on? What we treasure in our homes is often reflected in the hearts and lives of our children.

It started less than an hour after she was born. Still exhausted and overjoyed after delivery, when the long-awaited newborn daughter I cradled began rooting for her first meal, I fed her. Three years (and a baby brother) later, feeding these children remains my primary task in life.

When so much of my brain space is occupied with thoughts of my children’s meals, it’s no surprise that it comes up in conversation with fellow moms. A new friend at a playground exclaimed that watching my toddler son devour a hardboiled egg made her feel guilty about her kids’ chips...
I guess even I feel some guilt about feeding my family sometimes.

...if you can’t shake your longing for guilt-free eating, the gospel reminds us we are in good company. We’re all groaning for the redemption of our bodies at that marvelous feast, but we miss the mark when we assume food choices can provide us a bit of moral superiority on the way. It’s not that caring about food or farming is bad, or that God doesn’t care about it himself. It’s that dividing food into categories that signal our success as a parent, maybe thinking that a “clean” or “natural” menu is a way to uphold our virtue or that feeding our kids more vegetables than crackers can ease our guilt, can go too far...

The Christian life is not about what we’re putting in our mouths, but what has come out of God’s. Our food choices are of some value, but not eternal value; God’s word stands firm forever.