"Be hungry"
He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. (Luke 1:53 NLT)
This verse sums up the ministry of Jesus & the gospel message in two phrases. Jesus fills the hungry but turns away the rich. This is not a reference to physical food or physical riches. Jesus did not come just to feed people, although he has a passion for meeting the physical needs that people have. Jesus is not inherently opposed to rich people. He did say it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God but not impossible. So what does this verse mean?
We see this verse lived out in Jesus' life. He was always feeding the hungry & always turning away the rich. He said at one point in the gospels, "It is not those that are well who need a doctor but those that are sick." He was always welcoming sinners but rejecting the religious. He ate with tax collectors & prostitutes but was in constant conflict with the religious establishment. Jesus came for the hungry not the full. He came to feed desperate people, not to feed the already gluttonous. It's not that the religious leaders were full, they just thought they were. They were in reality the most needy of all.
Where do we find ourselves in this? Are we hungry or rich? Do we need Jesus desperately like we need food to survive? Do we find our sustenance, satisfaction, & life in him? Or, do we think we have everything we need in life without him?
Tony Merida says there are three types of people: bad people, perceived good people, & new people. Which one are we? Do we know we are bad & in trouble with a good God & in need of a Savior? Or do we think we are good people? Do we not realize our need for Jesus? A Savior outside of ourselves?Or are we new people? Have we been made new in Jesus? We don't need to be better people, we need to be new people. So come hungry. Jesus doesn't turn away the hungry.
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