Jesus once said, “Blessed are ye that hunger now…” (Luke 6:21). In America today, it seems strange to speak of hunger as a blessing. One of the goals of modern life is to insure against hunger. For us, security means food on the table and the knowledge that there is plenty more in the cupboard! But Jesus taught that appetite is destiny! Our hungers can either exalt us or degrade us. The things we hunger for in this life will determine the things we are filled with in the next life. Man’s great problem is his hunger for the wrong things!
Note some things which the Bible teaches us to hunger for:
Hunger for God. It was Augustine who wrote of God: “Thou hast created us for thyself, and our heart cannot be satisfied until it finds rest in thee.” It is true that we have been made by the Creator to seek Him. He has placed a hunger in each of us which only He Himself can satisfy (cf. Psalm 42:1-2). We have an urgent need for communion with our Maker. Life turns to tragedy when we suppress this God-hunger within us. Many mixed up people are experiencing this hunger, but they don’t recognize it for what it is! So they wander aimlessly through life, trying one desperate thing after another hoping to satisfy their need. But it is God they hunger for, and they will never be satisfied until they are satisfied in Him.
Hunger for Truth. Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). One of the acute spiritual problems in our time is the widespread loss of appetite for revealed truth! There is little commitment to Bible study; little hunger for the word of God. But Jesus insisted that the truly spiritual man is a truth-seeking man. And then He said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). How sad that many Christians find it difficult to attend Bible classes or read the Bible daily. They are surrounded by opportunities to increase their knowledge of the truth, but their appetites are defective! They need to develop a hunger for the pure milk of the word in order to grow in respect to salvation (1 Peter 2:2-3).
Hunger for Heaven. Read Hebrews 11:8-16. Here we have a portrait of men and women of faith, driven by hunger for the heavenly city which God has promised to those who love Him. An old song proclaims, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through…” Tragically, many are living as if they intend to stay here forever. Their lives are so taken up with earth and its pleasures that they have not time to think of heaven. But the people of God can never be satisfied here; they have a hunger for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Spiritual progress is possible only if we stay hungry. Life is defined by our hungers. The things we crave are a reflection of what we are. Appetite is destiny!
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
Bobby Dockery
via Broadway church of Christ
Campbellsville, KY