Usually on Monday, I have to reduce my calorie intake because I’ve eaten too much over the weekend. It's not because I’m hungrier on the weekends than I am during the week; I just tend to indulge a bit more--that 'natural' feeling of deserving a little treat after a time of hard work. Sound familiar?
The Bible uses “food” metaphors to teach us about our need for God. Jesus said He was the "Bread of Life" and "Living Water." But unlike the natural realm, there is no limit on how much we can eat of this "food!"
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, ‘blessed are those that hunger…after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.' The word “hunger” means to be “starving.” The word “satisfied” means to be "gorged!" I wonder how much less we would be tempted with this world’s bread if we were more satisfied with the “Bread of Life.”
Bible commentator J. N. Darby says: “To be hungry for righteousness is not enough. We must be starving… when the Prodigal son was hungry, he ate husks, but when he was starving he turned to His Father!”
Greg,
ReplyDeleteThough not meant to be exhaustive, the following list occured to me as to how one becomes hungry: 1) working to such an extent that the body cries out for energy replacement; 2) smelling the food that is being prepared (like walking into the house from outside and not even having food on your mind but all of a sudden being overwhelmed with hunger when you smell the good stuff coming from the kitchen!); 3) seeing the food as it has been spread out (much like people experience when they take a cruise--the spread of food is in the galley 24/7; and 4) it is time--like breakfast-time, lunch-time, or supper-time. One salivates like Pavlov's dog when they have been accustomed to eating at a certain time of day!
I think the spiritual parallels are relatively obvious.
Stan
Another thought: CRAVINGS. We get certain cravings even when we are not 'feeling' particularly hungry. When we go through especially painful times, I think we begin craving God's answers!
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