We all hunger. We crave. We long. We yearn, we seek, we thirst. Without hunger, we cease to be who God made us to be.
Every day we endeavor to complete ourselves, to fill up some space inside us. We eat because we are empty.
God made us so that in every aspect of life, we regularly and repeatedly hunger. We run short or run out of something. We are reminded that we are not complete in and of ourselves. That we are somehow lacking.
That we could be more.
This was the very thing that Satan chose to exploit when he approached Eve. "Don't you realize you're not all you could be?"
Interestingly, how many times do we hear Jesus ask, "What do you want?"
So what was up with God inventing something that needed completion? And He had the audacity to call it "good". Invented a being with these recurrent cravings.
What does our hunger tell us about ourselves and God? What are your thoughts?
Jon, I love you man! Good stuff! Does my heart good.
ReplyDeleteI hunger...man do I hunger. When I read your post these words from Jesus came into my head;
"Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
We were made to hunger and thirst, Jesus says that he will supply the satifsfaction--so much so that it will spill over into other people's lives.
One more things about hunger.
Jesus was born in Bethel (house of) hem (bread). He is described as the bread of life.
I could use a sandwhich about now!
Pvt. Steele
Dude, you're virtual! Did the goose lead you here? (I like the name of your blog.)
ReplyDeleteSo, we have Jesus, the Bread of life. He said, Drink from my water and you will never thirst again. And before He left He told us to Take, eat, this is my body.
These word pictures wouldn't mean a thing to us if we weren't made with this physical hunger.
And the satisfaction of drinking from Jesus' water wouldn't make sense if we hadn't pushed back from a meal that hit the spot after a long day.
The next time we sit down to dinner, maybe we shouldn't thank God for the food. Let's thank Him for the hunger. It's what draws us to sit down and eat together in the first place.
So much more to talk about. Hunger is speaking.
What does this hunger say about God? Does He hunger?
Think of the ways that we are told we can satisfy this hungers inside us. The biggest lie is that possessing something will make us more. That having the thing will fill us to completion.
ReplyDeleteIt's the grandest lie of all, and one which we all fall prey to from time to time.
"If only I had that car, I'd be cool."
"If I only had that job, people would respect me."
"If only I had this knowledge, my life would be significant."
It's a subtle lie, but it's made obvious when it is contrasted with consuming.
God made us consumers, not possessors.
Possessing stuff doesn't bring you fulness any more than buying groceries gives you the strength to run a marathon.
Consume the groceries, my friends.
Consumption--that's something entirely different. The answer to hunger is ALWAYS consumption.
What do you hunger for? Think on that, and see if you can think of any deep craving that can't be satisfied by consuming that which we seek. (Albeit, temporarily, for now.)
You are incomplete without God. Jesus IS the bread of life.
Crave Him unashamedly. It's the way God made you. Those who are authentically human will seek Him, and they will find Him.
He's everywhere we cast our eyes.
And when you see him, consume Him. He is all in all, and everything is yours.
This is fulness.
God made us in such a way that much of the world around us can become part of us. We take it in--consume it--and it makes us more.
ReplyDeleteHunger--craving, needing, eating, drinking, consuming--speaks mythically of the nature of our relationship with each other and with God.
We are more when we consume one another in deep fellowship. When you become part of me, and I become part of you.
And we are full when we consume Christ.
Dude, I agree with you completely, and it comforts me to no end. He hungers for me, in a shameless, pure, perfect, uninhibited way. So much so that He came and died to destroy that which kept us apart.
ReplyDeleteNow He's taken with consuming the very thing that ran away from Him so long ago.
And when He consumes it, He becomes more. We complete Him.
And yes, consider the act of creation with no reason. He didn't create just for the sake of creating. He didn't make something that He could stand back and watch.
He made something, and put Himself in it, and is making it part of Himself at the same time.