BY JACK WARD
In May 1846, 187 men, women, and children left Missouri in a wagon train headed for California. There was nothing exceptional about the group or this journey, and we would never have known about them had they not decided to try a shortcut. The “Hastings Cutoff,” as it was known, was indeed a shorter route to their destination, but it had only been tried on horseback. No wagon had made the journey. This group, now known as “The Donner Party,” would not complete their journey.
This group is famous because of allegations of cannibalism that occurred within the group while waiting for rescue. We find the thought repugnant and disgusting. We like to believe that, no matter what, we would never do such a thing. It would be more accurate to say, “I have not been that hungry yet” than to say “I would never eat that.” The survivors were high in the Sierra Madre for three months with no food at all.
I have heard people say, “I wasn’t fed at church.” And I assume they mean they learned nothing useful or did not feel God’s presence. Also, I have heard the charge that “I don’t like doing it this way” or “I don’t like that version of the Bible.” I compare this to my kids coming to me complaining that there is nothing to eat in the house. When I point out various options, they exclaim, “I don’t like that.” My response is always the same: “Then you aren’t truly hungry yet.”
You know who does not like what is spread on God’s table? The one that is not hungry. The one seeking self-satisfaction and validation. Who wants to pick and choose the ways they will worship? The one who does not think they need God. They are full of themselves.
In Matthew 5:6, Jesus commends the one who “hungers and thirsts” for righteousness. Think Donner Party hungry. Desperate. Without pride or will. With one goal and one goal only: to be fed. To eat readily from whatever it is God lays on the table. To accept whatever condition, correction or assignment He throws at us without hesitation.
When we come to Church and worship in such a way, according to Jesus, we will leave filled and content. So when we leave still hungry and discontent, whose fault is it? This illustration was by Kelly Mitchell, Main Street Baptist Church, Goodman, Mississippi.
Whose fault is it? Why do you leave God’s table discontented? How hungry are you for the word of God? How hungry are you for Jesus Christ? How hungry are you to know more about Him and to walk with Him?
If you are full of yourself, then you will be very hungry for the things of God. If you are hungry for the pleasures and satisfaction of this world, you will not be very hungry for the word of God. You may think you are, but if the word of God does not satisfy you or sustain you, then you are not that hungry yet.
Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on 98.9 WSIP FM. Check out the Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church Facebook page and our website at tomahawkmbc.com.