When Love Takes a Bite Out of Your Sandwich
Tracy Howell of Leonard, Texas, has found a unique way of showing her husband both her love and her fellowship in his daily life. On December 1, 2020 she shared the following in a Facebook post which has since racked up hundreds of thousands of shares:
"Clifford and I have been married almost 41 years and I have made his lunch every working day since day 1. On occasion I would join him on the job site and have lunch with him. He made the comment once that lunch tasted better when you share it with someone you love ❤️. Soon after that, while fixing his sandwich one night, I took a bite out of it before putting it away. When he got home (long before cell phones) he commented that someone took a bite out of his sandwich. I told him that since I couldn’t join him for lunch, I took a bite so he knew I was joining him. I continue to do this frequently (unless it’s tuna or pimento cheese) and he still says, 'saw you joined me for lunch today and it sure was good."
Tracy wanted her husband to know that she isn’t just thinking about him, she’s actually “joining” him in his daily experiences. She’s “with” him. She’s “taking a bite” out of whatever struggles or hardships he encounters. She’s “sharing a meal” to fellowship with him over his victories and triumphs. In this simple gesture, she is communicating to him that they truly are in this thing together. It's fellowship on the deepest level.
What a picture of the love, commitment, and fellowship of the Savior for us, His children.
Jesus left the glories of Heaven and condescended to become one of us so that He could truly enter into our daily experiences.
He isn’t just watching over us; He is “with us” in all things!
In taking on humanity, He identifies with us in all our experiences, our joys and sorrows, blessings and burdens, struggles and temptations. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV).
In taking on our yoke of burden, He is “taking a bite” out of our hardships. “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV).
In securing our salvation He offers to enter in and “sup” with us. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20, ESV).
In keeping with Tracy’s husband’s sentiments, life tastes so much better when you share it with someone who loves you. It’s fellowship on the deepest of all levels!
The Historic Jesus
Josephus, a Jewish historian of the mid to later first century, was not a Christian. It was not his purpose to proselytize or perpetuate the claims of Christ. Rather, he was a respected chronicler of the events of his day, as evidenced by his works having been accepted by the Imperial Library in Rome. He had this assessment of Christ:
“Now there was about this time of the rule of Pontius Pilate, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call Him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those who loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold … and the tribe of Christians so named after him is not extinct at this day.”
Quoted from ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, by Josephus, Book 18, Chapter 3, Paragraph 3.
Many have attempted to disparage Jesus’ role in history by claiming him to be extra-historical, mythical, or perhaps simply a composite representation of various cult personalities and philosophies of the day. These claims, however, do not hold up in light of the testimony of those who were there and who recorded history.
Ben Affleck Embarrassed By Slave Owner Ancestor
“A hacked Sony e-mail posted by WikiLeaks … reveals that Ben Affleck demanded that the PBS show ‘Finding Your Roots’ remove the fact that one of the actor’s ancestors owned slaves,” reports the Boston Globe.
In a July 22, 2014, e-mail, the show’s host, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., asked Sony USA boss Michael Lynton what he should do about Affleck’s request: “One of our guests has asked us to edit out something about one of his ancestors — the fact that he owned slaves. Now, four or five of our guests this season descend from slave owners, including Ken Burns. We’ve never had anyone ever try to censor or edit what we found. He’s a megastar. What do we do?” Lynton advised that the revelation be removed. “I would take it out if no one knows, but if it gets out that you are editing the material based on this kind of sensitivity then it gets tricky.”
In response to the leaked emails, Affleck apologized for having made the request and admitted that he was embarrassed by his slave owning relative and wanted to distance himself from him.
If PBS was to do a documentary on finding Jesus’ roots, what do you suppose they’d find? He’s the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, so surely His pedigree is perfect, right? Wrong!
Rahab was a prostitute.
King David was an adulterer and murderer.
Truth be told, ALL of Jesus’ ancestors were imperfect, sinful souls simply because ALL human beings are imperfect, sinful souls.
What if this news gets out?! He's a megastar! It could ruin Him!
But Jesus wasn’t embarrassed by his pedigree. He didn't want to distance Himself from it. Rather, He embraced it, acknowledging that God uses imperfect, improbable, even undesirable characters to accomplish his purposes.
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham …” (Matthew 1:1, ESV).
“Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph … “ (Luke 3:23, ESV).