Jesus Paid for My Parfait

"Every bit of bread you eat, if you are a godly man or woman, Jesus Christ has bought it for you. You go to market and  buy your meat and drink with your money, but know that before you buy it. or pay money, Christ has bought it at the hand of God the Father with his blood."

-Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.

Burroughs explains this idea further by the analogy of a criminal on death row. Before his execution a prisoner may be given a last dinner, and he has a right to this meal. He has not stolen it. And yet, his right to a last dinner is very different from a man sitting down to his own table, in his own house, with his family. The simplest meal at home is much better than the delicate dinner of the condemned. 

So it is for unbelievers and followers of Christ in this world. The unrepentant may have anything in this world, and yet he has no eternal right to any of it. He possesses his things merely as the beneficiary of a momentary mercy. Tomorrow he goes to his execution, and will never eat of the fair things of earth again. 

Believers, on the other hand, are sons of the Father, and coheirs with Christ. Everything we possess now is ours by right, purchased by Christ, and soon we will have the whole world. My yogurt parfait this morning was a first-fruit of an eternal feast. 

Wonder, Christian, over your lunch and dinner. You enjoy this piece of bread now as a son of God, and your Father has given it to you. Christ's work has purchased this piece of bread for you, and an eternal right to be at the table of God. There is no ordinary sandwich for you to eat at lunch today. Marvel at every meal, at whatever you see or taste or smell, and rejoice that Christ has made it yours by his blood.