Exodus 12:14-20
Like the casseroles and scrumptious desserts piled on my plate at our Homecoming Sunday dinner on the grounds, the food we prepare and choose tells us about ourselves. Our menus mean more than their ingredients, pointing instead to the rituals we value. And it’s been that way for generations. When God gives Israel specific rules about their diet in today’s passage, God creates a relationship between faith and food that lasts for the ages.
God’s instructions to Israel about only eating unleavened bread for seven days and ridding their homes of leaven might make us wonder why God is so demanding about what they eat. But doesn’t God’s care for their nutrition remind us of a parent’s attention to the details that help their family thrive?
Following these instructions takes a discipline that draws them closer to God. These rules help the Israelites create a new space for interacting with God, as they set aside their normal ways to focus on the Lord. In the time of Passover, the whole Israelite community makes this space and time for the Almighty.
The same is true for us. We are our best selves when we develop a routine of seeking our Creator by making space and time for God in our daily routines. When we practice spiritual disciplines, we remember whose household we belong to. We draw closer to the One in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Consider
How are you creating space for God this week?
Pray
God, help me create space and time for you to dwell in my daily routine. Fill me with your Spirit and let it move me to live for you. Amen.