“He lives my hungry soul to feed” (Samuel Medley, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”). When Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus replied, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus Christ is the Word. We are to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood. We are to feast upon the words of Christ and also the Word that is Christ. Jesus Christ knows that confining our eternal souls into mortal bodies trapped within the confines of time and in a fallen world would cause our souls to cry out in hunger for a work and a glory that cannot be fully satiated by any earthly pleasure or worldly attainment. It is for this reason that He offered Himself up, both to ransom us from sin and death, and also so that our hungry souls could be fed with the words of eternal life. So often we try to satisfy our hunger with a thin and flavorless gruel when Jesus is beckoning us to come and join Him at a banquet fit for a king. Our hunger for justice may lead us to believe that vengeance will satisfy us, but if we instead feast upon the forgiveness that Jesus offers us, then we will find that our souls are filled in a way that vengeance never could have done. Our hunger for recognition may convince us that fame will satisfy us, but if instead we need the Savior's call to serve with meekness and humility, we will find that He will exalt us high above the fleeting and insubstantial earthly fame for which we had strived. How silly we must seem at times to continue trying to satisfy our hunger by gnawing at stones and pretending they are bread when Jesus is standing always with His hand stretched out offering us the Bread of Life so that our souls may be filled in a way that nothing on earth ever could. I know that Jesus Christ is able and willing to feed our hungry souls if only we will turn to Him and accept the feast that He has prepared for us.
