Friday, November 25, 2016

Still Hungry? (Friday Devotional)

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.””

- John 6:35

If you’re like me, yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner was probably the biggest meal you’ve eaten all year. Between the turkey and dressing, the dinner rolls, the mashed potatoes, and the green beans, it may have seemed like the food would never stop coming—and then you realized dessert hadn’t even been brought out yet. By the time the dishes were clean and the Cowboys had kicked off, you were completely stuffed.

When you finish a meal like that, it feels like you’ll never be hungry again. But after a good night’s sleep, I have a sneaking suspicion you woke up this morning and, whether immediately or after a couple of hours, your stomach started to growl. For all you may have eaten yesterday, all it took was some time before you were ready for more.

Just like physical hunger, part of being human is feeling spiritual hunger, a desire to tap into something bigger than yourself, to encounter something transcendent. When you see a majestic mountain vista or are enraptured by a work of art, when you are moved by a proverb first uttered thousands of years ago, any of these moments or others like them can fill that need…for a little while. But before long, you find yourself hungry again. Our world offers thousands of spiritual snacks, but none permanently satisfies.

What the world cannot do—fill the emptiness inside, provide life with sacred meaning—Christ can, if you place your faith in him. Jesus said to a spiritually hungry crowd, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Faith in Jesus satisfies your soul’s longings not just for the moment, but for the duration. So this Thanksgiving weekend, as you continue to enjoy food and fellowship with your family, may you know where spiritual hunger becomes spiritual fulfillment: at the cross.

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