34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.”
John 4:34
Do
The meaning of the word “do” is to action or execute. In order for us to get to the point of “doing”, we must first make a decision by our individual, free will. Our actions stem from our beliefs and our decisions. For Jesus “to do the will” of His Father, He must first have believed and decided on this action. What do we believe? What are we choosing to DO?
The word “do” is rooted in the Greek word “tithēmi” for which one definition is “to set, fix, establish”. In this context, Jesus was saying to His disciples that His nourishment, His fulfillment is to set, fix or establish the will of His Father – that was His greatest purpose. He therefore chose to establish the will of God over fulfilling His bodily need for physical food. He would, of course, eventually eat for sustenance but physical food was not His primary focus. How many times have you been so focused on getting something done that you have missed a meal or two? The questions for us though are, “What is that “something” we’re so focused on? Is it establishing the will of God or is it for out own earthly passions?”.
As we seek to go deeper in relationship with God and to become true disciples of Jesus Christ, let us examine the things that we are choosing to “DO”.
See the article “Seeking to Understand Self-Control” for more on the application of this verse.