the SOCKLESS prophet

Each summer I am involved with teenagers doing mission work during their summer break. For eight days, these teenagers work hard, often in the heat, to help repair lives and homes. We usually spend the nights sleeping on the floor of a hosting church, and are fed by the different congregations. The food is always wonderful and plentiful. These wonderful people will often supply lots of cookies, cakes and pies for these hard working teenagers.

There is no doubt that teenagers can eat, and eat a lot. But just because someone has a good appetite, it does not mean that they hunger for what is good for them, or even know what it is. It is always so tempting to fill up on the cakes and cookies, leaving no room for the real sustenance. Each day we have to warn the youth to eat right, not simply the food that tastes good. Even with all the warnings, every now and then one youth will forget. Usually around the second or third day of working in the heat someone will be moving too slow or feeling a little too run down because they didn‘t eat right. They always have a wonderful excuse like, “But that is my most favorite cake in the world.”

We can do that spiritually also. In Matthew 5:6 Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” In this passage Jesus is reminding us that we must be intentional in our quest to grow spiritually in the right way. Everyone has spiritual hungers, but we don‘t always feed those appetite‘s with spiritually healthy food. We often let other worldly pursuits and pleasures substitute for a genuine quest for righteousness, and it will always leave us feeling lethargic in a world that moves in high gear. There are times when we simply must make ourselves eat right, and when we do life is simply Better!