Quenching My Appetite

The more responsibilities God gives me, the greater the temptation to fix my eyes upon the temporal. For example, the more mouths I have to feed the more I find myself concerned for the where and the how of His provision. With the additional blessing of each child, I rightly feel the burden of responsibility even more keenly. These feelings of responsibility are appropriate, but the mindset that results from the additional blessings is the real test to see for what I labor. The concern for where and how often outweighs the desire to see Him do it. When I find myself in this state of being, I realize I'm chasing after the wrong meal.

Jesus tells us in John 6:27, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." Now does this mean that I am to throw off all concern for the physical needs of the family I've been given to steward? Of course not, but rather it means that I must set Him ever before my face if I am to be laboring for the food which endures. I need to be concerned more for making sure that my family is feeding on the life found in Jesus, because that is permanent. No matter the circumstances, we can feed on Him and be forever quenched.

He continues in verse 35 by saying, "I am the Bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst." Jesus Christ is for Whom we are to labor, strive to taste, and from Whom to drink deeply. It is this desire and love for Him that is at the heart of the why our relationship with the Savior is the Food for which we are to labor.