Hungry and Thirsty?
" Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled".
Matthew 5:6
What is it about sitting down to a table laden with food and surrounded by family and friends that evokes such feelings of peace and joy? Close your eyes and picture it! There is love there, laughter, smells of good food and the comfort of people who know us and care about us. Maybe it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, a birthday party or another family get together, but the food is plentiful! Once the meal is over you can recline and visit and enjoy each other's company a little while longer, feeling full, satisfied, and at peace. It's food for your belly AND your soul.
A gathering like this one meets all your needs. Physical needs, emotional needs and even the spiritual need to connect to things bigger than yourself.
Maybe you don't have memories like this one. Maybe you were not fortunate enough to experience them and can't imagine what it must be like. That's ok! I have good news...there is something even better available...if you want it, if you desire it, if you search for it with all your heart.
What am I referring to? The verse above is a quote from the bible. It says," They that hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled." Are you hungry and thirsty? I'm not talking about feeling like a snack or anxiously waiting for supper to be ready because you can feel your stomach rumbling. This is a desperate hunger and thirst. Like a man in the desert withering under the scorching sun, longing for water lest he die! This is a spiritual thirst.
Everyone has a spiritual need. Just like our physical bodies are made to crave food, our spiritual bodies crave sustenance too. There are lots of places advertising ways to fill that need. Places that offer to fill the spiritual void with mindfulness, self awareness, sexual gratification, alcohol, and mindless entertainment. Reaching for those things is like reaching for pop and chips when you are hungry. The satisfaction is short lived. It looks great and tastes good but it doesn't last. You will be hungry again in a very short time, and it doesn't provide your body with any nutrition. Empty calories. Empty...kind of describe the way a lot of people feel now a days doesn't it? Desperately scrambling from one empty calorie to the next trying to be full, be satisfied. News flash: it's not working! There is something better, something satisfying, something lasting...something filling. Like that thanksgiving table laden with food waiting to be received...the truth is there waiting to be received.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness...hunger, long, pant, desire...you have to really want it! What is it? What is truth? God is. God awakens the desire of people's hearts, not their bellies. He offers them satisfaction. He fills in abundance your spiritual need. Fills it! Gorges it, stuffs it, supplies it in abundance! You Will be satisfied! You will be loved.
I love food, I love to bake, that's why I started this blog. I love to eat and be satisfied, but that physical hunger and the satisfaction food brings is nothing compared to this. This is true life, true satisfaction.
God offers his son as a sacrifice, offers him so you can be filled. Take his gift.
Like the oft quoted phrase ," Bon Appetit " or " Eat well". I urge you to seek spiritual satisfaction. Eat well.
Be satisfied. Be filled.
