Food That Satisfies

I had some outstanding meals for lunch yesterday and today.  Yesterday I was in Santa Fe and found a diner that still served breakfast at 2 PM.  I had huevos rancheros with green chili.  They came with beans, potatoes and a tortilla and my hunger was satisfied. 

Today I was just getting ready to dig around in the kitchen for something to eat when the family having a pot luck lunch at the church gym invited me to join them.  A pot luck on the reservation by a large family has an amazing quantity and variety of food.  The red chili stew was fantastic. 

One plate. One bowl.  A second plate.  Several desserts.  Then I went back home to work. 

In a sense each of those lunches was unexpected.  I knew that I was going to eat something but until the time came I had no idea what it would be.  And they were both meals that were more than adequate in their amounts, and equally delicious.

But now, nearly six hours after lunch, and I'm thinking about food again.  I don’t need a lot and I may just snack on the items in the picture.  Not the healthiest choice, but I covered the food groups pretty well at lunch. 

The thing about our bodies and food is that the time will come when what we last ate is no longer sustaining us and we need to take in some more. 

But…there is a food that satisfies…

I made a pastoral visit yesterday, where I shared John 6:35.  Jesus says:

"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."

When we have faith in Jesus we have something precious and enduring.  Something that he describes here in terms of food, a way that we can understand, and yet also with a  bit of mystery, because what we receive in him will never fail us.

Red chili stew…cheetos…  They feed one for a time and then we need something else.

Jesus…food that satisfies, now and forever.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.