Are You Hungry?

Millions of people struggle with diets, weight loss, appearance, and body image. Losing weight can be quite difficult and keeping off the weight is even harder. An article I read states that the difficulty doesn’t always come in lack of motivation, discipline, or will power. Often, the problem lies in body chemistry and environment. We have to be aware of how our bodies work before we decide to try various diets. Hunger pangs aren’t the only reason we eat. Lab rats with mostly removed stomachs continue to eat regularly. Chemicals in our brains tell us not only that we need to eat, but also what foods we prefer at certain times. In our environment, certain cues like the smell of freshly baked bread or the amount of food on our plates cause us to eat. The set point theory states that we are predisposed to keep ourselves at a certain weight. If you loose too much weight, out hunger grows while our energy levels drop.
Whether or not you believe various ideas and theories regarding hunger and weight loss, one must admit that hunger is a force that drives us. If hunger didn’t exist in any respect at all, there wouldn’t be the motivation for us to obtain the necessary energy from food in order to live. In Luke 9: 10-17, we read about when Jesus feeds literally thousands of people. Not only did he tell them about the kingdom of God and provide healing, but also Jesus satisfied their hunger. Just as it is natural to hunger for food, it is also natural to hunger for the presence of Jesus in our lives. In John 6:51-58, Jesus calls himself the “living bread”. When we live in Christ, we do more than extend our stay on Earth or fight hunger pangs. In Christ, we have what is necessary to live forever. Without Christ, our lives are empty. We can try to fill them but only Jesus can really gratify us.