Grace often begins with breakfast

I saw a movie the other day in which a little boy had lost his parents. After they passed away, he was raised by his grandmother. Of course, she was someone from another era and didn't always know how to comfort this little boy—but there was one love language she spoke fluently: food. Love really can travel through the stomach, can’t it?

The boy's grandmother tried everything: from delicious fried chicken to fresh apple pie. But the one thing that finally made him smile was her famous homemade cake. Sometimes, the best thing someone can say is simply: “Here, eat something.”

Even God seems to know a good breakfast often gives a fresh perspective. When the prophet Elijah laid down—weary, downtrodden and ready to die—under a bush, God sent an angel to him to say: ‘Get up and eat”. It gave Elijah the strength to carry on.

I imagine it must have been like that for Simon Peter as well. Overcome with grief and despair, he had but returned to his old profession: that of being a fisherman.Toiling over a net until the crack of dawn. As the sun rose, he looked from the boat and saw a fire on the shore. Someone was waving. And as he came closer, he saw it was Jesus. And on that fire–a delicious roasted fish. “Here, eat something.”

Sometimes that’s all you need to hear. And with all that Jesus and Simon Peter would have to discuss next, it began with something as simple as a good, wholesome slice of fried fish.

It’s my guess that Jesus knows all of our hunger pangs. Not just the ones in our heart and souls–yearning for forgiveness, direction and perspectives–but also our less lofty ones. Unfortunately, Jesus is not here today to feed us fish. But did you know that early christianity depicted Jesus as a fish? You see, the Greek word for fish is an acronym for ‘'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour'. Nothing fishy about that, right?

So, if you are like Simon Peter–lost, confused, tired and hungry–let Jesus feed you. With joy, with peace, with comfort, with new purpose.

In what area of your life do you hunger for those comforting words: “Here, eat something”?