Bible Reading: Psalm 27:1-3; Isaiah 41:10

“Why does Pastor Evans have to preach such long sermons?” grumbled Jasper on the way home from church. “It’s always so boring!”

“I actually wished Pastor Evans hadn’t quit so soon,” said Dad. “He helped me understand some verses that had been hard for me to grasp before.”

“Well, my Sunday school class is always really boring too,” added Jasper.

“My class isn’t boring,” said his sister Karis. “Today we talked about the Israelites in the wilderness and learned a new song. What was your class about?”

Jasper shrugged. “I don’t know—I wasn’t really paying attention.”

After lunch, Jasper put some scraps in the cat’s food dish. “Come here, Mac! Look what I’ve got for you.” The cat walked to the dish, sniffed the food, and walked away with his tail held high. Jasper shook his head. “That cat has no idea what’s good,” he muttered.

Karis was standing at the window, looking out. “Come see the baby birds in their nest! The mother bird brought food for them, and they all have their mouths wide open!”

Jasper went to look. “Well, they’re way smarter than Mac. He wouldn’t even taste the food I offered him.”

“I guess he’s not hungry,” said Karis.

“Grandma always says he’s just finicky—choosy about his food. I’m sure he’d like what I gave him if he’d try it, but he won’t.”

Mom walked up behind them. “That’s probably why you were bored at church today while the rest of us got a lot out of it.”

“I was bored because Mac won’t eat?” asked Jasper. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that, like the baby birds, we were hungry—we had hungry hearts. They were open and eager to hear from Jesus as we listened to see what spiritual food He was offering through our pastor and Sunday school teachers. But like Mac, you wouldn’t even try it. You expected to be bored, so you didn’t even bother listening and thinking about what was being said.” Mom placed a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “Next time, how about really listening? Think about the lessons and how they apply to your life. Ask God to give you a hungry heart with an appetite for spiritual food.”

–Mary Rose Pearson