Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6
I realize this may be an odd time to raise such a question so soon after Thanksgiving week, but I want to consider a few important spiritual parallels. No doubt most of us feasted on a host of our favorite foods at Thanksgiving. By the end of Thanksgiving Day, we probably did not want to think about eating. However, we were all ready for breakfast come Friday morning, then lunch, then supper, etc. Within a relatively short time after we eat, we become hungry again, and rarely do we keep our bodies waiting for the nourishment it craves. Beyond desire for food, our bodies need nourishment for energy, growth strength, repair, mental capacity, etc. We must put the right kinds of food in our bodies to maximize their health, function, and longevity. Thankfully, we rarely if ever have to wonder about our next meal. The Lord has blessed us with great bounty, and for this we ought to always give thanks.
The Bible uses hunger and nourishment figuratively to describe our need to consume the Word/word of God frequently. In 1 Peter 2:1-2, Peter urged his readers to desire the sincere milk of the word to grow spiritually. The Hebrews writer lamented his readers’ failure to sufficiently consume the word of righteousness to reach spiritual maturity and discernment (Hebrews 5:11-6:2). Paul likewise chided the Corinthians for their lack of spiritual development due to malnourishment (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). The recipients of these letters face spiritual problems that could destroy their relationship with God. As our bodies cannot thrive and will eventually die without physical nourishment, so our souls cannot thrive and will eventually die without spiritual nourishment.
Thankfully, the Lord has provided this nourishment aplenty. Jesus is the bread from heaven that empowers eternal life (John 6:22-59). Notice a few important principles from this passage. First, we must follow Christ from proper motives. Having recently fed the five thousand, a great crowd sought Him on the other side of the sea (John 6:22-25), but Jesus knew that they had materialistic motives in so following (vs. 26). Though we should seek our physical necessities from the Lord (Matthew 6:11; 3 John 1-2), our motive in following Him must be spiritual nourishment (John 6:27).
Second, one must continually eat this spiritual food (John 6:50-58). The tense of the verbs for eating in this passage indicates a continued action. Like physical nourishment, it is something that must be continually consumed to promote the growth, healing, energy, strength, etc. we so desperately need in our battle against the evil one. Like physical nourishment, we must progress from milk to meat as we grow (1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:11-6:2).
Finally, there is only one source of spiritual nourishment, and we must be sure to consume it in its purity. As Peter said in 1 Peter 2:2, we must desire the pure/sincere milk of the word to grow thereby, Jesus made it clear that other spiritual bread will not suffice (John 6:53-58). We know we must put the right foods in our bodies to live healthy, vibrant, long lives. We must likewise put the right spiritual food in our hearts to live spiritually vibrant lives now as we steadily approach our eternal home.
Thankfully the Lord has given us the bread of life that we may be spiritually nourished as often as we choose. This brings us back to the question in the title of this article. Are you hungry? No doubt we have all eaten many a meal since that Thanksgiving feast a mere eleven days ago. We would never be satisfied to eat only occasionally. Our hunger takes over and the impulse to eat is too strong. Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness as much as we do for physical nourishment? Thankfully, He has given assurance that those who do will be filled (Matthew 5:6). Let’s eat!