Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

October 16– Morning

 by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“Come and have breakfast with me.” 

—John 21:12

In these words, the believer is invited to a holy nearness to Jesus. “Come and eat with me,” implies sharing the same table, the same food; indeed, it sometimes means to sit side by side and lean our head upon the Savior. It means being brought into the banquet house where the banner of redeeming love waves.

“Come and eat,” gives us a vision of our union with Jesus because the only food that we can feast upon when we dine with Jesus is himself. This is the depth of our union with him— one that reason cannot fathom— that we feed upon Jesus. Elsewhere he says, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him.”

This is also an invitation to enjoy fellowship with the saints. Christians may differ on a variety of points, but they all have one spiritual appetite; and if we cannot all feel alike, we can all feed alike on the Bread of Life sent down from heaven. At the table of fellowship with Jesus we are one bread and one cup. As the loving cup goes round, we pledge our lives to each other. Get nearer to Jesus, and you will find yourself linked more and more in spirit to all who are like yourself, supported by the same heavenly manna. The closer we get to Jesus, the closer we become to those who love him.

We likewise see in these words the source of strength for every Christian. To look at Christ is to live, but for strength to serve him you must “come and eat” with him. We work under a lot of unnecessary weakness by neglecting this precept of the Master. This is one occasion when we shouldn’t be on a diet; on the contrary, we should feed heartily on the gospel so that we gain strength and use every ounce of energy to its full power in the Master’s service.

Today, come and eat with Jesus! Be near to him. Be united to him. Love his people, and be strengthened for his service.” [M&E]