Skip to main content

Hungry?

I know it's been out for a while, but I like the Snickers commercial with Betty White. You can watch it here.

‘You’re not you when you’re hungry.’

Have you ever been really hungry? I think food is a funny thing. We have to eat. I know some people say that since you have to eat, it may as well taste good. On the other hand, rice and beans seem to keep people alive just as well as steak and lobster. I’m no vegan, but I just think we make a big deal about what we eat.

Perhaps the Snickers people are right. Maybe you aren’t you when you’re hungry.
John 4 opens with the familiar story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. I want to skip to the end when Jesus’ disciples come back with food. We’re told that they had stopped because Jesus was tired from the journey. Now the disciples have food and Jesus does not seem interested.

"My food is to do the will of God" John 4:34.

Food is what energizes us. It is what gives us the ability to go on. Jesus tells us that His food is to do God’s will. What’s your food? What drives you? I think most of you, because you’re quizzers and because you’re in a church, would like to answer that your food if God’s will. I’d like to challenge that.

Ever found yourself walking around the halls at school at such a pace that is guaranteed to get you close to that guy or girl you’ve been adoring from a distance? Ever pushed just a little harder in a game or sport because you couldn’t stand to let the other person win? Have you ever changed your schedule around to be sure to watch a certain show?

The list goes on and on. How many of you schedule your lives so you can excel at academics? Sports? How many of you work hard to make sure your Facebook status updates get the most ‘likes’? While there is nothing inherently wrong in doing our best in all areas of our lives, we do find out what our food is by what gives us the most energy.

If you do not have the same drive to get up for some time with God as you do for an all-nighter of playing Halo, then you know what your food is. (Or playing with Barbies and having pillow fights, if you’re a girl.)

Jesus says as much to people in John 6, after the feeding of the 5,000. I imagine that people had bragging rights for a while after that feeding. ‘Yeah, I was totally there that day. It was awesome. There was so much bread. I didn’t eat for a whole day after that.’ But Jesus says this. 'You're only looking for me because you want more food, like I'm some bread-making reality show waiting to happen. Call me Bread Boss, but I'm not interested' John 6:26-27.

So what are you hungry for? When you hunger for the things that God hungers for, you become the child that God has been desiring you to be. Jesus sums it up well in John 6:53-57. When you hunger for Jesus, it becomes His life in yours.

I guess it’s true; you’re not you when you’re hungry. That’s the point.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...

Mom

I will travel this weekend to Georgia to celebrate the life of my mom, who passed away just before Christmas.  A Celebration of Life service. That’s what we’re calling it. Because that’s what my mom wanted. She was quite clear on this matter. She didn’t want a funeral. She didn’t want people mourning for her.  As a Christian, she was very certain on her eternal destination and she wanted everything, in her life and death, to reflect that. There will be music, people sharing tributes, and a message given by her pastor.  If that sounds similar to a funeral, I agree. But semantics aside, let me share with you a few more things about my mom. Along the way, you might learn a few things about why I function the way that I do. As I’ve considered my mom’s legacy, a few words have come to mind. Steadfast My mom knew what she believed, lived what she knew to be true, and didn’t really care what anyone else thought about it. I have no inclination to remember my mom as some perfect p...