A Biblical Reflection on Food Aid
God Wants Abundance and Life
“Jesus commands us to
help those in need. Buying
nutritious food grown in
the country where it is
needed means it will reach
hungry children and families
more quickly. Local and
regional economies will be
strengthened. More of the
food-aid budget will actually
be spent on food, which
means millions more meals
can be provided. Food-aid
reform is a win-win-win.”
– Rev. Gradye Parsons,
Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
“No more shall there be in it
An infant that lives but a few days,
Or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
…They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
— Isaiah 65:20a-21
When the Scriptures talk about what human life looks like as God intends it, one thing is
consistent: humans are flourishing. This flourishing is rooted in God, in whom “we live and move
and have our being” (Acts 17:28) and who is manifested in societies where those who are most
vulnerable are cared for.
This world was created as a place where God’s love and provision might be made manifest in
tangible ways. The Scriptures provide many examples of how God repeatedly cares for people, not
only through providing for their spiritual lives, but through sustaining their bodily needs as well.
God provides both salvation and nutrition through manna and quail in the desert (Exodus 16:1314). Through the ministry of Elijah, God sustains the widow of Zarephath with bread (1 Kings
17:7-16). Jesus states that he comes to bring life “abundantly” (John 10:10) and demonstrates the
love of God through table fellowship with people on the margins of society. When crowds gather
around him, Jesus teaches them about the kingdom of God and creates abundance from scarcity,
feeding more than 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish (Mark 6:41-42).
As the first Christians came together, their worship and community were centered on the gathering together around the breaking of the bread (Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7, 11; 27:35). They appointed
deacons who were responsible for seeing that widows and orphans received the food they needed
(Acts 4:32-35, 6:1-6).
As Christians today, we continue to serve people in need—our neighbors next door as
well as those far from us as they struggle with hunger and poverty. As a wealthy nation, the
United States responds to humanitarian emergencies with food aid, reaching millions of people
around the world. Food aid provides nutrient-rich foods for adults, children, and babies who
are in urgent need. However, our part in providing food should be guided by the wisdom of
Scripture. Isaiah 65 speaks of life as God intends it. It is more than simply receiving good things.
It is also participating in creating a good life and a society that reflects God’s desire for abundant
life. When communities take responsibility for the
nourishment and prosperity of their members, they
express God’s ordained purpose.
In supporting reforms to U.S. food-assistance
programs, we can mirror God’s intention for
abundance and life. By engaging in this issue, we are
participating in caring for our neighbors near and far
but in ways that better reflect God’s desire that we all
might build up our world to be a place where all are
cared for and sustained.
(Left to right): Bud and Barbara Miller of Michigan and
Grace Stauffer pray during the opening worship at Bread
for the World’s Lobby Day in Washington, D.C., in 2012.
Rick Reinhard for Bread for the World
2 Bread for the World • www.bread.org/go/OL