We live as hungry people in a hungry world. Everyone is looking for something that will sustain and nourish life, something that will feed and energize, something that will fill and satisfy. Everyone is looking for bread. The problem is not that we are hungry, but the kind of bread we eat.
~ Michael Marsh
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal.” Then they said to Him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he has sent.” … Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst… For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, in John 6
Oh beloved, it is true.
We gain a taste for the things we put into our mouths. Even bitter seems sweet after a time. What is it about us that drives us from:
Joy into weakness?
Acceptance into bitterness?
Strength into fear?
Hope into despair?
Peace into anxiety?
Knowledge into doubt?
Waiting into rushing?
Kindness into rage?
Diet. What are we feeding on beloved?
Often within us, is the propensity to be amazed by the amazing things that G_d does for us. We sense that He is a Loving G_d, and we are thankful. However, it does seem that we can get off point by looking to the gifts rather than the astounding Giver Himself. And herein lies the problem.
Every thing (read everything) G_d gives us, is just a thing. And the thing(s) – as wonderful as it(they) might be – will go away someday. For the gifts He gives are but tokens of His wonderful affection towards us. Just as flowers to our spouse are true and noble and just and lovely indicators of our Love for our beloved – they will quickly fade. Further, the memory of a gift like this will only hold true as the tokens and icons of our Love are shown to be indicators of a true and deeper abiding reality.
Further, as the things and gifts He gives us fade, we are often tempted to begin to look elsewhere for substitutes. And often these substitutes seem to be available in greater supply, and are easier to obtain. However, what we find is that these things fade even more quickly and leave absolutely no sense of satisfaction… They only leave us wanting more. And in our immaturity we often miss the fact that we are not wanting more of what left us empty. Rather, we are wanting more of Him.
So, in seeing the gifts of G_d as true, albeit temporary, signs of His Love towards us, what are we to do?
Seek Him. Seek the Giver.
But, we say, “that seems so – well – non-fulfilling.”
Beloved, what are we looking for in all the things that do not fulfill us? What are we looking for in the cars and bodies and chemicals and powers and securities and thoughts and entertainments anyway? We are looking for the one thing to fill the emptiness within. However, in jamming these things into our lives, we find that the hole does not accommodate any “thing.” None of it fits.
Can we see it?
What if we tried it a completely different way? What if we began to see that our appetites and tastes have been twisted away from what actually tastes Good? What if we simply believed (first) the words of the Word, and then in the very Word Himself?
