S101P4 – The children of God: a different hunger

1 Pet. 2:1-3

So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech; like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation, if in fact you have tasted the goodness and gracious kindness of the Lord.

The baby birds were chirping away incessantly as they waited in the nest for mama bird to return.  When she finally arrived with that afternoon’s meal, they chirped even louder.  It was a magical moment to watch that mother feed those little chicks who needed her so desperately.  What was not so magical was the method by which she fed them.  She first ate those worms herself before regurgitating them into the chicks’ mouths.  Hungry as they were, I could not understand how those little birds stomached that lunch.  For me, I could never be so hungry as to partake of that meal.  For them, those chicks knew that the half-eaten worms were exactly what they needed not only to survive but to grow and prosper.

The children of God are to be dependent on his word.  They should know what those baby birds know.  The world might see the milk of the word as uncomfortable or difficult to swallow.  Many people who are suffering will try every other remedy and determine that they will never be in such great need that God would be an answer.  They think they know better, but it is the children of God who know better.  We understand, or we should understand, that his word is life.  We are to hunger daily for that word because it is not something extra for us; it is a necessity.  It should be the kind of hunger that makes us relentless until we are fed.  It should cause us to take whatever measures necessary to make sure we partake of that meal every day.

I have an incredible sweet tooth, and I have found my mouth watering at just the thought of dessert even if I am not hungry.  When I consider the measures I have taken to satisfy such an unimportant craving, a completely unnecessary luxury, it makes me assess whether my hunger for God’s word is what it should be.  The word is what we need to grow and prosper spiritually, but it also should be something for which we have developed a taste.  It is not only a matter of needing God’s word daily but craving it daily.  We want to get to the place where we bask in his word not out of obligation but out of desire.  Father, make us faithful in our consumption of your word, knowing that we need it but also longing to taste it.