We’ve seen that the Scriptures repeatedly compare our spiritual needs to our physical hunger. Jesus promises that those who come to him will never go hungry again. But what does that mean?
To begin to understand, we have only to continue the comparison with being satisfied with a good meal.
Imagine it. Your favorite meal, including dessert. Not only that, there is plenty of it, and seconds if you choose, with beverage of your choice. You push back from the table feeling like you never have to eat again, right? In fact, if someone offered you a ride to Coldstone or to pick up a pizza on the way to your house, you would say, “Sorry, don’t bother! I’m stuffed. I can’t eat another bite.”
The reality is that even though you feel that way now, it won’t be long before you’re snooping around the fridge or the cabinet to nibble something. Hunger just does not go away.
But imagine never wanting food again because you always feel full. If you can get your mind around that one, you are well under way to envisioning what it means to be satisfied in Jesus.
It means you no longer wonder if Jesus is the Son of God.
It means you no longer think maybe you should try another religion.
It means you no longer look to short term thrills to satisfy your longings.
It means you see Jesus as the fulfillment of all God’s promises.
It means you take God at His word and trust Him to give you what you need.
It means you daily delight in Jesus and moment by moment savor His attributes and grace.
No, that is not a complete list, by any means. And no, we will not do all of these things perfectly. We are forgiven sinners, but we are still sinners, and just as we wander off our healty food regime and spend time in the snack aisle, so also we are tempted to wander and cross the line back into sinful choices, practices, and thoughts.
But we always come back to Jesus because those things don’t satisfy us, and we once again are hungry for Him, the only source of soul satisfaction.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven,
but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:32, 33