Thursday, 28 June 2018

Physical needs and spiritual needs

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Yeshua goes up on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee (called the "Kineret" in Hebrew because it is in the shape of a harp) and begins to teach at the beginning of Matthew 5. He starts the first 9 verses of His "Sermon on the Mount" with the words "Blessed are". The fourth such verse is this one ...

Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

To hunger and thirst for righteousness is a reference to the Table of the Lord.

John 6:54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 “For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Yeshua is the reality of all things. It follows He, Himself, would be (and is) the reality of righteousness."

What does it mean to be "satisfied"? We are born with some needs. Other needs are cultivated by society.

Rabbi Trail: You are aware they spend millions (even billions) of dollars convince us that we can't possibly drive down the road in a car that goes down the road just fine because we don't look good enough behind the wheel. This need to drive something shinier is a created need. End RT

The whole world and everyone in it is participating in a quest to satisfy needs. Many (I'm tempted to say here "most") are looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places. Let's list a few wrong places. Your spouse - it's wrong to expect your spouse to satisfy every need; children the same - or any other person. Your job will not satisfy (Do I need to offer evidence?). Entertainment is temporary at best. So is drugs or alcohol. Get satisfaction from buying something new? But then it's not new anymore. Nothing in this world satisfies.

Earlier in John 6, Yeshua was saying only He will satisfy.

John 6:35 "Yeshua said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.'"

Let me offer you another true statement. For every physical reality there is a spiritual reality. For every physical need there is a matching spiritual need. The spiritual trumps the physical. Turn to Yeshua and He will fill you up until we agree with King David in Psalm 23, "My cup overflows."

When the Lord satisfies us, we are not only filled, but we have an abundance to share with others. Blessed be the Lord, whose kingdom has never had a shortage. Amen.