HUNGERING FOR GOD

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger.”

(Jn. 6:35)

When Jesus mentions never hungering He is speaking of another kind, not of the same kind. Yet the Bible is replete with examples of God’s people being filled with God and still hungering after God. 

I think A.W. Tozer illustrates this truth best. In his younger years he sold peanuts on a train. He said when the passengers got settled in he would pass up and down the aisles giving out a few free peanuts to each, then he would wait for a time before he’d go back through each car selling peanuts. He said he always sold out. The principle? they did not hunger after another kind, but the same kind.

Once one truly acquires a taste for God he or she can’t get enough! Jacob, David, John the Beloved, Mary Magdalene, and Paul all had an insatiable hunger for God. They had such spiritual appetites for God that only He Himself could satisfy. Their desire for larger portions came after consuming their present meal. Please don’t misunderstand me, but they were gluttons for God! He was their portion. And they wanted larger portions with each helping.

It’s paradoxical: that is, a seemingly contradictory statement that when investigated may be well founded and true. When it comes to the Lord, we are satisfied yet always wanting more.

The mixed multitude longed for the leeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt. They didn’t have an appetite for the sweet Manna from heaven—the Lord Jesus. 

An Old Disciple