What Are You Hungering For?

There are seven "I AM" statements of Jesus in the book of John. These statements are reminiscent of God's proclamation of Himself in Exodus 3:13-15, when he declares to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM". These seven statements reveal the very nature of God, embodied in His Son, Jesus.

Today I want to focus on the first of these statements.

"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."  John 6:35

I don't know about you, but I love bread. Soft yeasty bread. Crusty bread. Wheat. White. Rye. I just love it all. So when Jesus says he is the bread of life, my mouth goes to watering.

So what's so important about bread? Well, it has nutrients the body needs. It provides fiber. It fills the stomach and satisfies. And we will die without food. Our body needs some kind of sustenance for life. The same is true for water. A human body can only go about 3 days without water, then the kidneys begin to shut down. We must have water.

Now Jesus is not claiming to give us living bread and water. He claims he IS the bread of life. He IS the living water. He is the way of salvation. Jesus is the path to real living and to living real.

While Jesus tells us we will never go hungry if we come to him, he means we will never starve to death...we will never die in our sin. Once we believe in Jesus and follow Him...taste Him...we will hunger for the real bread that gives life. That hunger is a GOOD thing, because we will always run to Him for the sustenance that only He gives.

But sometimes we let life get in the way. Times get tough. Life gets hard. Our focus slips and we lose our way. Our spirit begins to atrophy without the bread of life, Jesus. We hunger for relief from our pain instead of the presence of Jesus. So let me ask you...

What are you hungry for?

A Note to Writers:  So often writers who are seeking publication tend to focus on that one thing: Publication...that elusive goal of getting your work on bookshelves across the nation. You hunger for it, don't you? 

Well, let me tell you. If your focus is not on God and His mission in this world, then you are missing the mark. It could be that writing that book really is His mission for you in this world, but if you are solely focused on finding the right agent, finding the right editor, finding the right publishing house, you are hungry for the wrong things.

Hunger for God. Hunger for Jesus' words of life. All else will come into play in His time.

What are you hungry for?