Yesterday I had a conversation with a health department official. She was very nice, and seemed to want to work with me as we are hopefully getting close to getting the food truck approved and running. Our conversation revolved around water supply - how much water we have available on the truck versus how much water we would need in an average day. We built large sinks to accommodate washing pizza pans, but we actually use very few dishes. We have a few knives, some ladles, a cutting board for food prep. By and large its a pretty minimalistic and simple set up. But she was suggesting we needed to be able to fill our three large sinks a minimum of half way four times a day. I was asking what she thought we would wash in all that water. Finally I asked what their actual regulation was - What is it we have to comply with. And the answer was we needed to be able to have any utensil or dish we were washing at least half submerged to thoroughly wash and disinfect it. Once I was able to discuss the actual regulation we were able to come up with genuine helpful solutions. I was reminded that the purpose of the health department is to make sure people are serving safe and healthy food. They’ve created layer upon layer of regulations to try and meet this purpose. But somewhere along the line they have forgotten their purpose. Instead of how we are accomplishing the actual purpose of providing safe and healthy food, the question becomes how are we actually meeting all the ever increasing regulations. So the health department no longer provides consumers with the assurance they are getting safe and healthy food. Instead they create producers who’s primary focus can no longer be what is the best way to give my customers the best food and experience. Instead it becomes how do I jump through the regulatory hoops so I’ll be allowed to have a business that by necessity often becomes processed and artificial because anything real, organic, and healthy has been regulated out of public consumption.

The whole conversation and experience came to mind as I was reading in Leviticus about the law God gave the Israelites. God created people to walk with him and live with him, to find all their fullness and joy and adventure and pleasure in him. Adam and Eve chose to try and find that in other ways and places, sent the world into a death spin, and every one of us since has followed their example. The Israelites saw the amazing power of God rescuing them from their slavery. They came to Mount Sinai and God invited them to come up the mountain and talk with him. But they said no thanks, just talk to Moses for us. Moses does, and while he’s at it, they build a golden calf to worship and throw a crazy party. God deals with that mess, and gives them the tabernacle as a focus for their worship, where they could see concrete evidence of his presence in their midst. But what grows from there is this thing that comes to be known as the law. The point of the law was to help them stay aware of, alert to, and connected with God. But it didn’t take long before they forgot the point of staying in relationship with God, and instead started keeping the law in order to keep the law. And if they “kept the law,” then whatever else they did wouldn’t matter. But actually what God wanted was not for them to keep the “law,” it was for them to stay close to him.

But it makes me wonder during this Lent season, thinking of the sink water issue, do we want our lives immersed in the goodness, power, and adventure of God’s Kingdom? Or are we just trying to get a little rinsing off, take quick sponge bath so we don’t smell quite so bad? The law was a rinse, it never could deal with the deep heart issues. And the people knew it. So do we. It’s easy to look at our lives and see where we’re off. Most of the time it’s even pretty easy to know what God is actually asking us to do. The hard part is in the obedience. I wonder what things we have chosen, fallen into, or embraced which might keep us from actually knowing and pursuing God? Maybe you should try giving them up this month, not for lent, but for Jesus, and fill that place up pursuing God and his Kingdom. You might be surprised what you discover both about God and yourself. And you’ll never run short of water!

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:37-28)