The Hungering Spirit

This blog is designed to give people an inner look at a devotional life. Taking time each day to spend time with the Lord. The hope is if you travel on this journey with Rev. Jacob Shaw, you may be more inclined to spend time with the Lord as well. I encourage the use of a devotional, a scripture reading and prayer, then finally some form of artistic mark to tie it all together. 

Today's devotional is taken from: Zacharias, Ravi. The Logic of God: 52 Christian Essentials for the Heart and Mind. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019. [E-Book] Chapter 21: The Hungering Spirit

Opening Thought: There are three points that Zacharias make during this chapter. The first is that we all seem to hunger for God. He notes his experiences praying with those who came from diligent atheistic households, but somehow, they still seemed to have a hunger for God despite their upbringing. I always find these stories interesting because the material-evolutionist would often position belief in God and religion as this archaic thing we need to evolve away from, yet even those who have been raised in purely atheistic homes or societies still find a calling for God. It seems to be something built into us, to seek the ultimate beyond all things and beings. And in that seems to be a knowledge that this Being would be personal. This leads to Zacharias’ second point which is God is a person, meaning God is a personal being, which also means God holds relationships. I think this is an especially important piece of knowledge because God-as-person is not as abstract as we often want to make God. I feel that we often try to relish in the mystery side of God more than the personal. Both realities, personal and mystery, are there, but they each serve in us a different reaction. This can be a good thing but as humanity is pro at misusing God for our own purposes it also means that if we have goals to shape God in a way that suits us, we can move to mystery more than personal because mystery is more abstract so there is less foundation of critique to apply against ourselves. This, in itself, is idolatry; we have to be careful to know God as the Ultimate source of all. Sure, God is the ultimate mystery, but God is also the ultimate person too. Which leads to our last point: God created us in His image, meaning that our personhood and our relational dynamics is a reflection of God’s nature.    

The devotional begins with: John 6:35

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Second Thought: A fourth point which Zacharias makes is that, sometimes, material pleasures fail us. I think we have all had this experience, usually the first time is when we are children. We want a particular toy for birthday or Christmas, and when you get it, you play for a day or two and then you forget about it. We often think that pleasures and luxuries are our answer to life’s problems. However, what we need to remember is that worldly pleasures, whether they be simple as a toy to the more complex pleasures of adulthood, are like bandage solutions, or better, mere distractions. That is why kids will often give up toys to play with a box, because the transcendent value of imagination outweighs the toy a thousand times over. That is why a person, in an atheistic society which focuses on materials as the goal of life, can only be satisfied so far before they seek beyond the limitation of what the material can provide. By design we are truth and transcendence seekers.

Continual Work: Think about the difference between seeking transcendence versus worldly pleasures.  What Bible passages might speak to this discussion?

What Rev. Jacob is Working On: I want to take some time and evaluate what things in my life are like the toys, have a short impulse of fun, but long term I’m not that invested in and/or they do not serve me well. This would be a great idea for everyone.

Prayer for your day: Personal God of Mystery, you are the balance in the contradiction. You live in the tensions between oppositions, and You are the reforming in the liberties. Let us find the balance we need to see you clearly, so that as we hunger for that which you can only provide, that we come to Christ to receive our daily bread. Amen.  

Artistic Close: This image inspired a thought of God, picking up the woven universe His hands have made (the basket) to wash the clothing, His creation (us) which reside in the basket. God is more like us than we think, but a better way to say that, is that we are created in His image.

Girl Carrying a Basket (1882) by Winslow Homer. Original from The National Gallery of Art. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.