Fasting is a rarely touched topic these days, yet Christ does not say to his disciples 'if you fast', but rather 'when you fast' (Mt6:16). The apostles and the early church fasted (Acts 14:23), and Jesus himself fasted (an example being during His temptation Mt 4:2).
It is noteworthy though that when tempted by the devil during this period, He replied "Man does not live by bread alone." (Luke 4:4). This phrase looks back to Deut 8:3, where God's people were told that their hunger had been to 'teach (them) that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord".
Matthew 6:16 tells us that 'when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do'. We do not need to be somber. When we fast, we do not merely turn away from one thing (materialism, a focus on this world, reliance on our own devices, daily worry, etc) , but towards another. That other is God and His Word.
When followers of Christ fast, they have food that world does not see or understand. They live on the very word of God, and have within them Christ, who is 'real food' (Jn 6:56) and 'living water' . A day of fasting is not merely a turning away from all that a fallen world has to offer, but a turning TO God, and the offering of our day to Him as a spiritual sacrifice.
A day of fasting should be a day we offer as Holy and pleasing to the Lord. Such a day does not need to be somber, but rather full of joy, because in Him we are provided with all things... even eternal life. Yes, it can serve many purposes, but if it is not first and foremost an offering to God, then who are we doing it for?
Is this extreme? I think the question should rather be; is it scripturally true, and if it is... what is my response?
Do christians follow human 'wisdom' or God's wisdom? Which one do we respond to with joy and an open heart? Which one SHOULD we respond to with joy and an open heart?
Fasting is a rarely touched
Fasting is a rarely touched topic these days, yet Christ does not say to his disciples 'if you fast', but rather 'when you fast' (Mt6:16). The apostles and the early church fasted (Acts 14:23), and Jesus himself fasted (an example being during His temptation Mt 4:2).
It is noteworthy though that when tempted by the devil during this period, He replied "Man does not live by bread alone." (Luke 4:4). This phrase looks back to Deut 8:3, where God's people were told that their hunger had been to 'teach (them) that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord".
Matthew 6:16 tells us that 'when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do'. We do not need to be somber. When we fast, we do not merely turn away from one thing (materialism, a focus on this world, reliance on our own devices, daily worry, etc) , but towards another. That other is God and His Word.
When followers of Christ fast, they have food that world does not see or understand. They live on the very word of God, and have within them Christ, who is 'real food' (Jn 6:56) and 'living water' . A day of fasting is not merely a turning away from all that a fallen world has to offer, but a turning TO God, and the offering of our day to Him as a spiritual sacrifice.
A day of fasting should be a day we offer as Holy and pleasing to the Lord. Such a day does not need to be somber, but rather full of joy, because in Him we are provided with all things... even eternal life. Yes, it can serve many purposes, but if it is not first and foremost an offering to God, then who are we doing it for?
Is this extreme? I think the question should rather be; is it scripturally true, and if it is... what is my response?
Do christians follow human 'wisdom' or God's wisdom? Which one do we respond to with joy and an open heart? Which one SHOULD we respond to with joy and an open heart?