Are You Starving?

The other evening, at Bible Study, we were in John 6:45-71. In this passage Jesus tells the crowd: "I am the bread of life (vs. 48)." When the crowd complains ("This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"), Christ goes on: "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. . .Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him by My Father."

Throughout this entire passage, Jesus is equating belief (a.k.a. salvation), with eating and drinking. He shows the contrast between earthly food, and heavenly food.

Pastor "Y" gave 5 points/reasons why belief is related to spiritual eating and drinking.

1) Food must be internalized
- No one is satisfied by merely looking at a plate of food.

2) Eating is prompted by hunger
- If you eat candy all day, yes you might not "feel" hungry, but your body is craving proper nourishment.

3) Once eaten, food becomes a part of your body
- It gets broken down and distributed to every single cell.

4) You trust the food you eat
- No one knowingly eats poison.

5) Eating food is personal--no one can do it for you

My mind sidetracked from what the pastor was talking about, and I began to wonder about, and compare, candy and vegetables.

If all you eat is candy, you will eventually starve to death.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying candy is bad. I myself really enjoy candy--more than I should actually. Isn't that the way with all of us though? Most of us like our candy better than our vegetables. (Ok, there are some of you really healthy people out there that do prefer a carrot over a chocolate cupcake, but...you're few and far between.) Admit it! Candy is SO much more convenient. You can grab a Snickers bar, and eat it on the run, as you work on "important things." On the other hand, cooking a balanced meal--or even packing a simple but healthy lunch--takes TIME. That's time I can't spend on other, "important" things.

But when you look at the "nutrition label," of each, what do you see? That candy bar will give you a huge, though short lived, boost of energy in the form of fat, sugar, and carbohydrates. This serves to build up our fatty layer, who's only purpose is to "insulate." Those veggies however, will sustain you long term, and provide nutrients essential for life and growth. Fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals all work together to purge your system of toxins, build muscles, and strengthen bones. Though this too builds a fatty layer of "insulation," it also increases our stamina, and the ability to act on our environment.

Interesting too is the fact that, the more you eat vegetables, the less you crave candy.

Now please understand, it’s not wrong to have candy. But if all you eat is candy—then I’d say you have a big problem!

The first step to recovery is acknowledging you have a problem. Developing a taste for vegetables takes time. If you have too much too quickly, you might have some not-so-nice side effects, so it’s best to wean yourself onto them a little at a time. The goal is to gradually increase the amount until it becomes second nature to reach for veggies.

This got me thinking. These same principles apply to my time with the Lord--in short my Quiet Time. When I don't spend time with the Lord, I am starving myself. There are many substitutes out there for actually cracking open the Word: devotionals, reading plans, theological study books . . . etc. As beneficial as they may be, they are in reality, nothing more than "candy."

My time in God’s Word [spiritual vegetables] is much better for me than any “candy” my theological library could offer. In fact, the more I “eat” my spiritual veggies, the less I crave candy.

I have always tended to eat more candy than vegetables, but this semester I really wasn’t eating much of either—I was “starving” myself.

By not eating my “veggies,” I was experiencing a build up of toxins—worldly thinking and attitudes, muscle deterioration—inability to flee or fight temptation and worldly philosophies/propaganda, and spiritual osteoporosis—a weakening of biblical convictions.

I still have a long way to go in fully developing my spiritual appetite. But a slow start is better than none at all. It is a lengthy process, but the fruits of diligence (no pun intended) will manifest themselves in due time.

What are the things you turn to in order to find “satisfaction” for your hungers?