Hungry
“Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”” John 6:32-34 |
For what does your heart hunger?
When will you be satisfied?
There is a world of difference between good days and bad days. Right? And I don’t mean the days when good things happen versus bad things. I’m talking about the days when you reflect back and your heart is full versus those days when your heart is still hungry.
Some days everything clicks. Your tasks point to a larger picture and purpose. Your conversations and moments with people meet a longing and fill a void. Some days it is easier to see the work of God in the moment instead of after the fact.
And some days close with you still hungry. Things were off. You were distracted. Your tasks and activities didn’t fill you but only depleted you. The end of the day is filled with a gap between what could have been and what was instead.
Sometimes you go through an entire season of days strung together where you are left hungry.
Are you starving? Longing for purpose and meaning?
God’s economy has always been a little backwards; seemingly opposite of logical thinking.
In God’s economy, the best way to satisfy your hunger is to feed others.
Both literally and figuratively.
Do you need a day where you can close your eyes at night satisfied? Go work at a soup kitchen. Make a big casserole and take it to the fire station by your house. Bless your children’s teachers and bus drivers with some homemade dessert.
Feeding others fills you up.
But feeding others is more than just food. It’s love. Loving others is how you feed them. You feed their soul with your love.
It is no secret that our society has some mixed up views on love. Tim Keller explains that love, for most people, is about attraction. We turn others into a commodity. “I love you because of what I get from you” or “I love you because you give me what I need.” This love is something less.
The love of Jesus is something different. It is a love of enemy. It is a washing of dirty, stinky feet. It says “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” A Jesus love doesn’t seek reciprocity. It only seeks to give love away without a return date.
This is the gift of bread from heaven. It is the only thing that satisfies. It is the only gift that shrinks when you horde it and grows exponentially when you give it freely.
Looking back and thinking on my days. You know the difference between the days I’m satisfied and the days when I go to bed hungry? I’m always way more satisfied when I’m giving throughout my day. Without fail, when I seek my own desires first and organize my tasks, my conversations, and my efforts around myself—then I am starving. I’m lost. I have an ache in my belly of a day wasted and lost. But when I give, as I’m open to the needs of others, and when I put the Lord at the center of it all (instead of myself), well, my friend, it is there that I find my fill.
Why? Because the smorgasbord of God's love never runs out. The potatoes are always hot, the meat is forever tender, and there is always enough for seconds. He feeds you so you can feed others.
And, He feeds you by sending you to feed others
So... are you hungry? Who will you feed?
What is one way you can feed someone this week? Put it on your calendar and make it a priority.