Hungry for the Truth.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.
John 6:35 (CSB)
Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? What fills you up and satisfies you? Do you ever eat a meal and still feel empty inside when it's over as if there were a pit in the bottom of your stomach? You call the empty feeling hunger, but is it food you need?
In my prayer, study, and journaling times, I have been coming across the idea of hunger. Yesterday, I called it a craving for compassion, holiness, healing, and wholeness. Today, I recognized it as a desire for truth, goodness, and reality. My emptiness has taken the form of questions. What is true? What is good? What is real?
With our news and social media sources distributing contradictory information, provided biased reports, and censoring news (about everything), it is difficult to know what is real and what or whom we should trust. I find myself becoming cynical and bitter about the state of our society, our nation, and our world. As I fight this, I realize that I’m looking to human beings, broken and fallible, for my source of truth and sense of reality. We humans do not see the whole picture. We don't have the full story. And we make opinions based on the limited knowledge we have. This is not a knock on humanity; it’s a simple reality, and I fully acknowledge my own failings in this regard.
My desire for truth and a sense of what is really real is a hunger in my soul. I have a deep-set need for goodness and truth, and it is not getting fed by our world. Every day I feel emptier and more lost, my hunger growing for something good.
In my quest for answers, I landed in John 6. If you have the time, I encourage you to read the chapter in its entirety. In this chapter, John records Jesus' fourth and fifth miracles. The fourth miracle is Jesus feeding thousands with five barley loaves and two fish, and the fifth is Jesus walking on water (a personal favorite). After feeding the thousands, the crowd was so impressed they wanted to force Jesus to be their king. As that was not Jesus’ intention or purpose, He left and withdrew to a mountaintop. His disciples left in a boat and crossed the sea. They were a few miles across when they saw Jesus walking across the wind-tossed waves to them. (Can you imagine the looks on their faces? What do you think was going through their minds?) Once they finished crossing, the crowds followed and caught up with them the next day.
Jesus then moves into His discourse on “The Bread of Life.” He tells the crowd that they’re only looking for Him because he fed them the day before. They neither understand Jesus’ purpose nor believe Him as he explains His purpose. He says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51). Jesus’ sacrifice of his life pays the price for our sins, and if we come to Him, He will give us eternal life with Him. He is the bread that gives us eternal life.
In my hunger, I try to fill myself with empty nutrients (social media, news, take your pick) that simply leave me hungrier than when I began. What if I tried something else? What if I turned to the man who said, "I am the truth?" What if I read the book inspired by the Holy Spirit? What if I turned to our Creator and the King of Universe and said, "I don't get it, I don't know what's true anymore, and I don't know where to go from here." In turning to God, He takes my worries and concerns, and rather than giving me more of the same in return, He gives me a peace that passes all understanding. He fills my cup to overflowing, so I am no longer empty and can pour out His love and grace to others. This sounds like a much better meal.
The next time you feel empty, consider what you have been filling yourself with – is it from our Source of life or just a poor substitute? I know I will be considering this more deeply as well.
