Hungry...for what?
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
C.S. Lewis wrote: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience on this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Born into a cursed world, in sin, we are children of the first Adam and our only hope is through Jesus Christ. Once we have accepted Christ, our second birth or adoption follows the lineage of the last Adam, which is Christ. No longer does our hope rest in this world but our lively hope promises an eternal inheritance. In fact, we are promised a blessed hope that is out of this world. This new walk of faith sets our affections, our mind and thoughts on things above rather than things below. Out desires change. Our passions change. We discover that nothing in this world can truly satisfy our soul, once we have tasted of The Lord.
Appetite is a very natural part of our makeup. Hunger in the natural will actually move us! It will move us out of the house to a drive-thru window late at night. Hunger will move us to spend hours in the kitchen preparing the feast. And keep in mind that hunger has a voice. It says things like, “I have been craving a greasy cheeseburger, or hot fries or a thick shake.”
With well over 1 million restaurant chains and such in the USA alone, it is easy to understand the huge (no pun intended) role that eating has in our lives. So the problem is not in having places or varieties of things to feed on, the problem is what we are feeding on. Healthy eating habits are certainly a justified concern. Our natural diets reflect a lot about us. And the same goes for our spiritual diets. We don’t seem to have a shortage of churches or denominations, but we should carefully consider if we are seeking the righteousness that Christ taught on the mountain sermon in Matthew five.
We have all probably attended an event that was serving only snacks, or deserts, etc., and as soon as we were out the door, we drove straight to an eating place of our choice because we were starving. Hunger was talking. Hunger has a voice. And the truth is, we were not really “starving”, but we were hungry for something specific.
The Bible records the account of one referred to as the Prodigal Son who actually did reach a point of starving. Leaving the loving care of a father, he found his selfish dreams to be short-lived. An early withdrawal of his portion of the family’s inheritance had been spent along with the friends that were closely attached to it. Hunger moved him to the lowest duties of feeding pigs. Hunger reminded him of the food available back home. The hired hands never went without a meal and here he was starving, really starving...to death. Feeding on the pigs food had taken its toll. He came home…back to his father…back in arms of love…and with the family benefits restored. Hunger moves us. Hunger has a voice.
As believers, as followers in Jesus Christ, it is vital that we daily align ourselves with seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Few of us would ever say that we don’t want God in our lives. The problem however is that we often want other things more. From the beginning of time we learn that Adam and Eve had everything they needed in the Garden, but were deceived into thinking there might be something better. We are still paying for that decision today. There is nothing better. The deceiver is still trying to convince us otherwise, but there is nothing better than feeding on The Word of God and spending time in His presence.
As Christ followers, we must remind one another that this world is not our home. We are only passing through. A long life here is still but a vapor or mist that lasts no time in comparison to heaven’s eternity. The more we desire the spiritual things of God, the more our mission of “Go ye into all the world”…comes into focus. Christ never lost focus of his mission (see John 4:31-34). His hunger moved Him. His hunger had a voice. It was to do the will of him that sent him and to finish his work.
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.” - Colossians 3:1-2
