Hungry?

As I drove into my driveway this weekend, I smelled a wonderful odor. It was that wafting of such richness I knew it could only mean one thing - somebody in the neighborhood was grilling! My mouth started to water. My mind filled with the thought of chicken on the grill, turning veggies with just the right grill marks and a tall lemonade on the side for refreshment. Oh my!

Somewhere in the last few years, I have come to enjoy the idea of grilling. Even if it's hamburgers. I like to fix them up so they are juicy and delectable. I've watched enough cooking shows to know how to add the ingredients to keep them moist and flavorful. They sit on a burger where a thin slice of red onion, a crispy leaf of lettuce and bread and butter stackers (pickle slices) extend over the edges. Of course the bun has been marked on the grill, so it's on the crispy side. You hungry yet?

Proverbs 22:6 says "train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

What does child training have to do with a juicy burger? It's about the palate! In the Hebrew language, "train up" has the meaning of touching the palate. Physically, when a person's palate is touched, they swallow. It's just one of those human body wonders. Metaphorically, parents are encouraged to "touch the palate" of their children with "the way that they should go". It creates a hunger for a certain "way". That is happening whether we realize it or not. Our habits, our actions . . . are a "way". Ultimately, what we are trained to hunger, we want.

Sometimes people feel "force-fed" when it comes to God. The "shoulds" and "musts" take over. "If" seems to play a controlling role as well. Hunger is definitely not there. How is that role reversed and a hunger for God started?

An authentic spiritual experience is an amazing drawing card. There is something about the Presence of God that is so real and refreshing. That experience creates a hunger that is not satisfied by anything less. Such is the opportunity with Jesus, the Bread of Life. He sustains us with His Word. His word is sweet to our taste! It is life and health to our bones. The more we experience Him, the more we want more of Him. It's not selfish . . . it's hunger!

Father, come and step into my world. Whisper life and health to me again. I have experienced Your authentic Presence - it wouldn't be Your Presence any other way. How great it is to know there is nothing else that can touch my palate and cause me to long for more of You. Spirit of the Living God . . . fall afresh on me!