Are you hungry?

There are few things that stir up more happy memories for me than suppertime! In our house that is 5 PM, has been for years, and probably always will be. The smell of dinner cooking invites those at home to get ready to pull up a chair and enjoy a meal. If I have not eaten much throughout the day I look forward to supper even more with a real appetite.

Suppertime is associated in my mind with reconnecting with the family and swapping stories about the day. It was and is a bright spot in the day. There are, however, moments when suppertime is not inviting. If I’m having a disagreement with my wife, sitting down across from her is not what I want to do. If I had a large meal at lunch with a colleague, I have no appetite even for my favorite foods.

Jesus invites us to supper. Are you hungry? "I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you." (Revelation 3:20, The Message) Getting together with the Lord to be fed by the Word and nourished by worship, both with the church and individually, can be one of the best parts of our day or week. When we share the things that weigh us down with Him in prayer, it eases the burden, and changes us so we can meet the challenges. When we offer up worshipful adoration, it renews our hope and helps us to remember why we exist. When we meditate on the Scripture, we are made wise and filled up with soul food that keeps us strong for the journey.

But, some of us have no appetite for supper with Christ Jesus because we have filled our souls with other things or we have become a stranger to Him and thus unable to enter into a conversation. The Bible warns against allowing "your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life. " (Luke 21:34, KJV) Maybe it will make more sense from The Message: "Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping." (Luke 21:34, The Message) Soul hunger is universal! Just as our bodies require constant nourishment and develop an appetite daily, our spirits hunger, too. In the same way that we can temporarily satisfy our hunger with empty calories, and some do to such an extent that they lose their taste for meat and vegetables, we can fill up our spirits with endless pursuit of pleasure, games, and even more sensual satisfaction until our spiritual appetite for the true Food of Heaven is gone.

No one satisfies our soul hunger like Jesus Christ! The Word says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6, NIV) “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat." (Matthew 5:6, The Message) If you lost your appetite for worship and the Word, if you longer love the Presence of Jesus, a fast is in order. Nothing sharpens the appetite like a simple water and fruit diet for a few days! When we have tasted the goodness of the Lord once, we can renew our hunger for Him by laying off the ‘junk food’ that has stolen our appetite.

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.


Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me; hear me,
that your soul may live." (Isaiah 55:1-3, NIV)

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Jesus has a table spread
Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people,
“Come and dine”;
With His manna He doth feed
And supplies our every need:
Oh, ’tis sweet to sup with
Jesus all the time!

“Come and dine,” the Master calleth,
“Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table
all the time;
He Who fed the multitude,
turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now,
“Come and dine.”

The disciples came to land,
Thus obeying Christ’s command,
For the Master called unto them,
“Come and dine”;
There they found their heart’s desire,
Bread and fish upon the fire;
Thus He satisfies the hungry every time.

Soon the Lamb will take His bride
To be ever at His side,
All the host of heaven will assembled be;
Oh, ’twill be a glorious sight,
All the saints in spotless white;
And with Jesus they will feast eternally.
- Charles Widmeyer, Public Domain