It is a surprising fact that the law of God commands his people to feast.

It is surprising for at least two reasons. First, because it was a great expense, involving lavish and time-consuming festivities that must have felt indulgent and unnecessary for the more frugal types. Second, because we often think of the Old Testament law as negative – don’t do this; don’t do that – but feasting was emphatically positive. It was mandatory fun. Get your best meat and your best wine, and have a party. And sometimes it lasted for days on end.

Yet, the Old Testament prescribes six feasts for the people of God. This meant that feasting was one of the major expenses for a faithful family in the course of the year, alongside tithing to the temple, and giving to the poor.

Why was feasting so prominent and so important? There are three compelling reasons for feasting as part of a rich spirituality in the Scriptures.

First, it was about the spiritual discipline of remembering. It was a way of looking back at the goodness of God. The feasts were tied up with extraordinary moments in the history of God’s people (like the Passover feast remembering the Exodus from Egypt), or a recognition of God’s ongoing goodness to date (as in the Feast of Firstfruits, marking the harvest). The beginning of soul-rot always stemmed from forgetfulness and the absence of gratitude, when the hearts of God’s people were disconnected from the story of God’s goodness in their own lives, and over many generations. The same is true today: if we forget, we die a spiritual death. But feasting was a way of deliberately remembering God’s great acts and his faithfulness, retelling the stories from one generation to the next.

Second, it was about enjoying God’s goodness in the present. A feast was a moment when you had permission to pause from ordinary life, then to taste and savour the goodness of God right now. They were not just saying, God was good to us back then. And they were not hoping for some vague future moment when they could finally rest and enjoy life. But instead, they were tasting his goodness in the very moment that they could smell the roasting joint, and bite into the lamb, and sip the rich wine. Failure to receive the ordinary gifts of life as evidences of God’s goodness is one of our most basic problems and a cause of so much trouble in our lives. But one of the God-given remedies is to embrace feasting, when he gives you full permission to eat until you burst.

Third, it was about looking forward to the promise of a heavenly feast. A celebration here is a mere echo and foretaste of heaven, when our hearts will find rest and happiness in the presence of God. If you want to know what heaven is like, one answer is this: think about the best celebrations and feasts you’ve ever experienced.

Easter is a perfect moment to feast. Whilst the Bible never mandates an Easter feast – no doubt because every Sunday is a celebration of the death and resurrection of our Lord – it makes perfect sense to go to some extra effort and expense at this time of year. By doing so, you are looking back and remembering the moment that changed history and changed you. And you’re enjoying the goodness of God right now, since you’re part of his family through the cross. And you’re fixing your hope on a future for all God’s people at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Therefore, go and feast to the glory of God.

These articles are 100% man-made, without the use of generative AI.

I’d like to do a series of emails on different aspects of your walk with God, including some spiritual disciplines.

I’d like to start the series with one of the most important aspects of the Christian life: Enjoying God!

It sounds obvious to some of you, but, in my pastoral work, I meet so many Christians, where the main need in their life is to deepen their personal relationship with Christ before they even think about impacting their colleagues for Christ, or serving the church, or pursuing grand plans to change the world! Whilst all these things are good, they cannot come at the expense of our communion with God. It is a wonderful gift, perhaps the greatest gift of our lives, which we often neglect to our peril.

I’m convinced that much of the Christian life comes down to the active pursuit of genuine joy in your relationship with Christ. John Calvin put it like this:

“It will not suffice simply to hold that there is one whom all ought to honour and adore, unless we are persuaded that he is the fountain of every good…Nay, unless they [all men] establish their complete happiness in him, they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to him”

The implication of Calvin’s encouragement here is simple. The way to grow your obedience muscle is simply to grow in your love for and joy in Christ. We are wired to fixate on the things that bring us joy. Only when God is the greatest source of joy in our lives will we return to him repeatedly, seeking the deep and rich satisfaction that comes from delighting in his incredible love and reflecting on his awe-inducing holiness. And only when we do that, will we feel a genuine desire to submit to his ways in every part of our lives.

This is, of course, not to diminish the everyday joys of life – the little gifts along the way. Rich friendships. Beautiful walks. Sumptuous cooking. In fact, when we respond with thanksgiving in our hearts, these ‘earthly pleasures’ become part of our enjoyment of God, the ultimate giver of these gifts.

However, there’s nothing like the pleasure that comes from reflecting on his promises, and experiencing, by the Spirit, a sense of the Father’s delight in you, because of your adoption in Christ. In a sense, joy is not the main goal here. It’s merely a byproduct of experiencing deep communion.

Our expectations in this area are often much too small. The encouragement to engage in the spiritual discipline of reading your bible and praying doesn’t quite do justice to the relational reality of speaking and listening to Christ. Step back and consider what an incredible privilege it is to spend time with the living God.

Are we ignoring the delight and strength that God wants to impart to us as his children?