If you have ever read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, you will know that Hobbits like to eat. They have breakfast, of course, but they also have second breakfast, then elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, supper, and maybe a nighttime snack. They have “an appetite.” We have often used this phrase to describe our teenagers and grandchildren. I sometimes won­­der if the floor by our refrigerator will wear out first because of the foot traffic in front of it.

I have also been in countries where hunger is a daily problem. I have seen moms desperate to feed their children and willing to feed them mud cookies when there is nothing else. We all have a hunger for food to satisfy the grumblings in our stomachs.

When Jesus sat on a hillside and began teaching the crowds around him, the people were not physically hungry, so he could focus on their spiritual hunger. He wanted them to know that if they were hungry for God, there would be plenty to fill their souls. He wanted them to know that if they would change their thinking and search after God, the righteousness and peace (shalom) of God would fill their hearts.

How hungry are we for the things that God wants to fill us with?