It’s a dark day for my vegetarian friends and colleagues. You have not been as meatless as you perhaps thought. I clearly remember the day I was riding my motorcycle and had some kind of bug go straight through my mouth into my esophagus and down it went. I had no chance to spit it out. Alas. Well, according to the National Geographic the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits 60 aphids in 100 grams of broccoli and 550 insect fragments per average box of pasta. So much for spaghetti with a salad. Until 2012 Starbucks colored their strawberry smoothies with a compound of pulverized insects. They got to call it “natural.”
The truth is we are created to be amazingly tolerant of all manner of food. Eating certain things is often more difficult to get something past our brain than our lips.
I am so thankful for Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Healthful living and a nutritious diet is very important. Our bodies according to I Corinthians 6 are temples of the Holy Spirit and we should treat them accordingly. But we should never fall into the heresy of believing our diet contributes toward our salvation. It does not even to the extent of one iota. Our salvation is a gift of God made possible by Jesus’ death on Calvary.
So please, enjoy a good plate of spaghetti and be filled with righteousness, peace and joy. Eternal life starts now. Enjoy being a citizen of God’s kingdom. I actually like broccoli. Wow, I can’t believe I just said that!
Written by Roger Bothwell on January 23, 2017
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