Articles
Starvation
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
Recent statistics published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that nearly 870 million people worldwide suffer from lack of food. That means one in eight of the 7.1 billion people on our planet do not have enough to eat. Another organization estimated that more than 7.6 million of those people died in 2013. That means about 21,000 people die per day, approximately 3.6 seconds apart. People are starving even as you read this.
These facts are heart-wrenching. Can you imagine you or your family suffering such a fate? Far more disturbing, however, is the number of people who are starving spiritually. I would guess that the number of people living and dying without the Bread of Life is far greater than 870 million. Each year, millions of people die because they do not have Jesus.
Some of those that die remain alive physically. Some of them have sufficient amounts of nutrition and water. Some of them—particularly those who live in prosperous nations as we do—even have more than enough to eat. But eating well now will not sustain us beyond our certain appointment with death.
Some of those that die spiritually are Christians. Does this shock you? Think about it: every year Christians die of spiritual starvation. Did you think this was even possible? Christians can forget where true Bread comes from (see John 6:32). It is sad to see Christians act apathetically during Bible classes; or discover that they are too busy with “life” to devote themselves to the work of edifying the saints through teaching and admonishing; or observe a Christian not engage in the worship with the rest of the saints. Jesus said to the lukewarm church in Laodicea, “For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,’ not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Yes, even Christians can starve.
Every person created in God’s image has a built-in hunger for Jesus. Only He can satisfy our yearning for eternal life. This Bread is so essential that coming to church three times a week cannot possibly suffice. Imagine eating only three times a week, and then multiply that feeling of hunger by 10. That represents only a fraction of the emptiness a Christian experiences when he does not feed on Jesus outside of regular assemblies.
I am afraid that we are too often like the Jews who were too concerned with filling their bellies to listen to what Jesus was saying when He said, “I am the bread of life.” After He fed the crowd of over 5000, they sought Him out the next day hoping for another free meal. Jesus warned them, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:27). Jesus was talking about belief in Him as the Son of God and the zealous obedience which follows, but to them this meant nothing more than, “Let Me offer you a never-ending feast of steak, potatoes, and hot rolls that miraculously never goes bad.”
It wasn’t just the Jews. The Samaritan woman also only thought of physical thirst when Jesus offered her “living water” at Jacob’s well. She said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water” (John 4:15). Honestly, we are no different. Humans are preoccupied with physical needs; yes, they are essential, but they are also perishing. Jesus is teaching us that what we need more than anything else is Him. Still, we try to satisfy our hunger with anything but Him—jobs, toys, entertainment, recreation, relationships, money, reputation, you name it. How foolish we are.
I do not want anyone to die of starvation. More than that, I do not want anyone to die without the True Bread. You will not live for long without it. Jesus came to feed us. So let’s stop fooling ourselves into thinking we are not hungry.
