Millions of Americans may be suffering from anorexia. No, not the anorexia nervosa Karen Carpenter's death brought to national prominence nearly two decades ago. I'm talking about anorexia of the soul.

To be sure, there are some similarities between the two. An anorexic avoids food. A spiritual anorexic believes the delusion that avoiding the nourishment of God's Word is all right--perhaps even desirable.

I suppose there are as many reasons for spiritual anorexia as there are spiritual anorexics. Some fear that too much of God's Word might make them spiritually fat. "After all," one woman protested, "I don't want to get fanatical." But when you hear that you've been snatched from the jaws of hell, it's hard not to get a little fanatical, isn't it?

The spiritual anorexic may say anything from "My faith is strong, no one can ever take it away," to "I've heard that all before."

Of course, the anorexic says that so we'll leave him alone. If anything, his self-diagnosis should heighten our concern. These words exhibit two more symptoms of anorexia: a distorted self-image and denial.

We need a rich diet

Our Lord Jesus has a much more objective understanding of the human condition. Peter, his disciple, once boasted that his faith in Jesus would never fail. With a doctor's care, our Lord prescribed a stern warning from God's law. Tossing the Physician's words aside, Peter denied his Savior only hours later. As long as we carry with us the sinful flesh, we, too, are in danger of falling from faith and that spells eternal death. Our Savior prescribes a diet rich in "the one thing needful," the Word of Christ. And he gives us the blessing of like-minded Christians who watch for our souls.

Even our Lord Jesus found himself in God's Word and God's house constantly. In Luke 4:16 we read, "Jesus went into the synagogue, as was his custom."

We need a regular diet

We might say it differently. We could say that Jesus was a regular churchgoer. After all, the synagogue was the place where Moses and the prophets were read and explained. There were times, of course, when Jesus was asked to be the preacher for the day. There were certainly other times when Jesus listened to others teach from the Bible.

Isn't that amazing? The all-knowing Son of God made the weekly trip to church, whether or not he was the preacher! As true God, what did he expect to learn? Something new?

Imagine a gray-headed rabbi standing in front of our Savior reading from the scroll of Moses: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . ."

Jesus could have replied, "Yes, I know that well. All things were made by me and without me nothing was made that has been made."

When the story of God's covenant with Abram was read, Jesus could reply, "Before Abraham was, I am."

Was the reading about God's grace to King David? Jesus was David's son and David's Lord.