Meat and Three Veg - 

A Recipe for Discipleship?

I remember the admiration I felt for my mum, an immigrant from middle Europe, as she sought –  the mother of eight children – to respond to the Aussie meal staple of ‘meat and 3 veg’ dinners. We certainly ate a lot of different meals … the meats were varied, the sauces creative and the veggies served on a seasonal rotation – but, if I’m honest, there was a routine we got used to and didn’t properly appreciate. They were easy, healthy and quick … which suggests that they were “good fare”, especially for growing children.  Maybe we took these delicious experiences for granted.

It's now been thirty-five years I’ve shared my own home with my wife (and our kids as they came along), and we are now very much back in the meat and three veg space. Why?  Because it’s healthy, preparation can be done together (and efficiently), and it’s on the table inside the hour.

More elaborate pasta or rice meals, complex salads, tasty stir fries – all have the potential to deliver good health-focused outcomes. But they can take time – which, if we’re honest, is not in good supply on weeknights. We wait to play in that space on the weekends – when there’s more time to linger over complex preparations and enjoy those special culinary experiences.

Staying healthy as a Christian is a spiritual exercise. We eat well to keep our physical health where it should be, we do some exercise to make things even better. Walking with our Lord and Saviour is not a passive experience; establishing healthy rhythms in our spiritual practices is important – personally, as well as in the way we engage with our fellow believers.

How do we deal with the meaty subjects of life? That’s a complex question; it would be fair to say that discipline, honesty and a teachable heart are all part of the answer. 

Doing the basics well – ensuring a regular time studying the word of God (the Bible), capturing multiple moments (and longer) each day to pray to God, engaging in intentional conversations with fellow believers, reading widely, and bravely, well-written books and articles that explain deeper meanings and insights into matters of faith – these are all good starters.

And, occasionally, going on retreat/going to hear a well-known Christian speaker/going on a church conference – these are the times to linger for longer and deeper. Important, and special – not for the everyday. And, all the while, deeply enriching and adding further to spiritual health.

Maybe all these components make up the “meat and three veg of discipleship” for us today, as a community engaging with one another, seeking to be God’s people together in community.

Might be worth talking about it some more, over a healthy meal.

Shalom