I’m fond of riddles, brain teasers and the like. When I
heard this one though, I was honestly stumped.
“What always eats but is never filled?”
It’s a grim picture. Feasting, but never satisfied.
Devouring, and never pleased. What on earth could it possibly be?
It’s fire.
The answer made so much sense. Energy transfers and
dissipates, evaporating into the space around us. It always wants more though.
And it has the capacity to devour everything in its path until all that is left
is an ash heap.
Always eating, never filled.
The riddle, though, is figurative of us, too. It is a
picture of the gaping chasm in the human heart.
Always eating, never filled.
When Jesus He was in the desert, he was tempted to turn “stones
into bread.” He
would not be undermined or beaten into submission; He would not be cajoled into
a gross display of power. Jesus instead responded in defiance:
Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that
comes from the mouth of God.
One of the great tragedies of this life though is believing Satan’s
subtle lie, that provision and God’s Word can be separated from one another.
And they can—but should they?
Surely this is the reason why our hearts are starved! Not just
because we divorce mere food from God’s kindness—but all of the provision in
our lives is consumed apart from Him! We work but are never satisfied. We pursue
meaningful, even pleasurable, relationships, but are never filled. The gluttonous
growls of our basic human appetites grow more toxic, more destructive.
But Jesus, gracious and kind, stands against the tyranny of
the ash heap. “Man cannot live on good things alone.” Jesus’ refusal to turn
stones into bread means freedom from the slavery of the quick fix, the
temporary, hedonistic one-shots that burn out quick. For what? For something real that reaches into eternity!
Eat, acknowledging the One who ultimately fills.
Work, resting in the One who is always working, never at
rest.
Pursue the deepest bonds of friendship and fidelity, knowing
that He delights in you beyond your imagining.
Enjoying, trusting, and resting in Him above all. He is the Great Satisfier of your soul, friend.
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