Every morning I am visited by my neighbor’s Border Collie who comes to the door for his daily dog biscuit, or “cookie” as we call them. On occasion, he is accompanied by my youngest son’s Golden Lab, Tick, who by all appearances has never missed a meal. He defines the term “moocher,” as he makes his rounds through the subdivision. His reputation for bringing home the most unusual food items is renowned: loaves of bread, unwrapped packages of chicken and frankfurters, and let us not forget the package of buns! We have often wondered if he has figured out how to open refrigerators and freezers and sorted through their contents like a grocery store shopper. Because of his bulk (and I use the term loosely) my son has had to ask his neighbors to please not feed him. Tick is what I call a “easy keeper” and in spite of being fed well at home, continues his daily vigil looking for handouts.
Daily sustenance is an essential part of maintaining a healthy life for man and beast. Without it, they would quickly starve to death. As far back in history that we can look, bread has always been an important dietary staple for the rich and poorest alike. In the Dark Ages, the quality of the grain determined the social level of man. The finer grains provided wholesome loaves for the upper echelon, while the coarser rye was cast to the lower classes. Children could be found on street corners begging for a simple loaf of bread to sustain them one more day. And looking even further back in history, the importance of grain was so vital that provisions were made to prevent devastating world famine (Genesis 41-43). In recent history, vast storehouses and reserves of grain have been kept to prevent a world-wide hunger and famine. But I have been told by family members who are farmers that because of the imbalance created by governmental influence and the appeal of its use in alternate fuel sources, these reserves are emptying at an alarming rate.
So where does that leave us? The price of grain affects the cost of everything we consume, whether it be food or the clothes on our backs. Our physical needs are greatly endangered by the nonsensical whims of a few who feel they have the best solutions for the world. And as they progress their secular and Godless agendas, Pharaoh’s dreams come closer to our reality (Genesis 41:1-7). There is only one solution: man must be filled with the “food that endures to eternal life” and there is only One Who is able to give it - Jesus Christ (John 6:27).
On their forty-year journey through the desert, the Israelites ate the “bread of angels” as God “opened the doors of the heavens (and) rained down manna for the people to eat.” (Exodus 16; Psalm 78:23-25) He filled their “grumbling” stomachs with the sweet heavenly bread. But like a loaf of bread that stales and molds after a couple of days, so did the manna, for it was a temporary sustenance until they reached their destination. The loaves of bread we stock our cupboards with are also just a means to prevent physical starvation. They cannot preserve us beyond their capacity to do so. It is the Bread of Life that feeds the starving soul that is most essential. It is the Living Bread, Jesus Christ, that provides the necessary sustenance to preserve our lives for eternity. And if we seek after it, then regardless of what comes, we will not hunger for we will be fed to the fullest.
The two moochers who show up at my door each morning looking for their daily cookie do so because they know my love for them will not fail and they will receive what is sought after. It is the same with God. When we knock at the door, He will open it and the Bread we seek will be freely given. And like the can that holds the dog’s treats that I must keep full, God’s storehouses will never empty. There is Bread for everyone who hungers after the Lord’s righteousness and it is available to all who earnestly seek after it.
Come and eat and never hunger again!
Additional Scripture (click to read):
Genesis 42:1-2
1King 17:7
Proverbs 30:7-9
Ecclesiastes 11:1
Isaiah 55:1-3
Matthew 4:1-4; 6:11
Luke 9:10-17
1 comment:
So funny about Tick. He has to be one of the most glutonous dogs I have ever been around. LOLOLOL Belle would probably be if she had full access to the farm but she's in a fenced yard and can't get out to hunt for all those tasty morsels. Good article and great analogy.
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