Michael Phelps’ “Breakfast of Champions” is much more than a bowl of Wheaties! He starts off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes round out his hearty breakfast.
But there is more: this is only the first of three 4,000 calorie meals Michael Phelps eats daily to keep his energy levels high during the Olympics. If you take into account he swims around 17 times over 9 days of competition, shoveling down 12,000 calories is not over the top.
This level of intake got me thinking about why we study the Bible. Ever heard someone complain about not being fed enough at church? Translated this often means the preacher is not digging deep enough into the Bible – he is serving appetizers instead of main courses. It makes me want to ask, “Do you really need a main course?”
The role of Scripture is much more than to inform us – it is to form us, to shape us into the image of Christ. Recently I heard a respected Christian leader say the problem in the American Church is that our heads and butts are too big while our hearts and hands are too small. In a similar vein, the book of James challenges us to be doers [of the implanted word] – not hearers only.
I hesitate to be negative towards anyone who craves the Word – far too many of us fall short in this spiritual discipline. Yes, we should crave the Word of God. The Psalmist dedicates the longest chapter in the Bible (Psalm 119) to the benefits of devoting oneself to the study of Scripture. However, when our consumption of Scripture produces nothing more than the emotional high of feel-good food we have a problem. Jesus said that his food was to “do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work” (John 4:34). Bible study should be the fuel that propels us into action; that produces within us an insatiable desire to advance God’s kingdom.
My point is this: if you want 12,000 calories of Bible, you better be ready to join God at whatever pace it takes to burn those calories!
Missions with Mike 
Love you man. Always an inspiration.
Thanks Steve.
Very good. So often it seems we are torn between one or the other…but both the feeding and exercising are essential. Should we focus more on “eating right” or “exercising”? We need both to be truly healthy. Thanks for the blog.
So true – thanks!