More Filling

John 4:31-34 - Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Are you hungry? If so, what is your top priority? For most of us, it is to get food. Watch a hungry dog, cat, or child. They will beg and plead to be fed with food, but just like the nameless woman came to the Sychar well to get water for her thirsty body but found more satisfying living water from Jesus, Jesus denied his physical hunger to pursue the more filling food of fulfilling God’s purpose for him.

The disciples did not understand this. They only recognized their and their leader’s own physical hunger. They missed a deeper need in front of them. They also missed the opportunity to see an entire community transformed, but Jesus did not miss it. Dozens of people in that town had their lives changed by believing in Jesus. It all started because Jesus was willing to put his own physical needs lower on the list than helping someone he happened to come across.

I wonder how many times each of us has missed a chance like that. Far too often I have allowed my own hunger and selfish need to keep me from being aware of the deeper needs of those around me. Yet, when I have chosen to act, I have found Jesus’ words true: Helping others is far more fulfilling than meeting my own needs.