‘Day 318

“And he (the angel) said to me, “Write: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED TO THE WEDDING BANQUET OF THE LAMB.” And he said to me, “These are the genuine words of God.” Rev 19:9 revisited.

When lambs were brought to the temple to be sacrificed, they were required to be absolutely spotless and without blemish. This was to illustrate the perfect purity of Jesus Christ. Those who are called to the wedding banquet of the Lamb will seek the cleansing that comes from intimate relationship with the spotless Lamb of God.

These days there is increasing interest in a vegetarian diet, and that interest has to do with much more than just health. For many, foregoing a meat diet is an issue of environment and social justice. Depending on what they eat, 20-60 vegetarians can be fed on the amount of land it takes to feed two meat-eating individuals. This means that if we reduced our meat consumption by 10%, it would result in millions of tons of grain for human consumption. That would be more than enough to feed well the 60 million individuals who starve to death each year!

A plant-based diet also benefits the earth. Animal production uses more than a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels we consume. The fuel used in producing a single hamburger patty would power the average car for 50kms! Few consumers realize that beef production alone uses more water than that which is needed to produce the world’s entire fruit and vegetable crop. You would save more water by not eating a Kg of beef than you would by not showering for 3 months! 51% of all green house gases come from the production of animals for human consumption. Not to mention the vast amounts of pollution the meat eating industry produces.

Everything we do touches others. We need to evaluate all of our actions in the light of what Jesus would do. The righteous actions of God’s people include taking only what we need, giving as much as we can, and living honestly and simply. As those awaiting the call to the wedding banquet of the Lamb, we will seek to arrange our lives in light of the righteousness of Christ. This will include attention to what we eat.