Woe Unto You That Are Full – Luke 6
“Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled…Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger.” — Luke 6:21,25
In America, it is unusual to go without food. Food is in great abundance and, in my experience, rarely do people experience genuine hunger. Because food is so available, it allows people to be very picky about where and what they eat. But if we were really hungry, we would be grateful for whatever is put in front of us.
Spiritually speaking, Jesus teaches us that it is a blessing to be hungry and a danger to be full. This is talking about spiritual desire. Those who are full and satisfied with what this world offers will hunger. And those who hunger now will be filled later.
The idea here is: How much do we long for the Lord and for His righteousness? Do we realise how much we need Him and need Him to work in our lives? Do we hunger for His grace and His righteousness? Or are we unconcerned with the things of God because we are so full of other things?
Sadly, many people would say they have no hunger, no longing, no desire, no interest in Jesus and His Word. This is because they have filled their lives with what the world offers and so they have no room for Him. All this will change one day when they go hungry and realise how much what the world offers can’t really satisfy. They will look for the Lord, but then it will be too late.
May God show us how much we need Him. May He give us a desire as a strong as hunger that will motivate us to seek Him. And may we resist the urge to indulge in worldly things so we do not spoil our appetites with fake and unhealthy substitutes for Christ.