At 8 months, Dan had a healthy appetite and seemed dismayed to see an empty refrigerator! The house we rented during our years in Australia was an old one, and the fridge supplied by the landlord was an old model that had to be de-frosted and cleaned out regularly...which is what I was doing when I took this picture. (I didn't mind...appliances were way too expensive for us to get a new one at the time.)
Several years later, Dan approached me one afternoon, bent over, with his little arms clutching his tummy, and groaned, "I'm dying of hunger!" (Actually, he said, "¡Me muero de hambre!" because he didn't speak English yet.) I guess he thought that adding a touch of drama would ensure a rapid response!
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For the first few years of their lives, our kids look to us when they're hungry or thirsty, with total confidence in our ability to feed them. (They might not get exactly what they were hoping for at the moment, but they will get food.)
I've been watching news reports on the refugees crossing the Mediterranean. It's heart-breaking to see them suffering. It must be one of the most difficult things ever for the parents when they have to watch their little children go hungry, and not have anything to give them. (I'd be devastated!)
Physical hunger and thirst will persist for as long as this old worlds exists. God is aware of every person who suffers. We don't always understand how and why things happen as they do...but He does. Sometimes He uses us to be his hands. Jesus describes the final judgement, and how His followers will say, "'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to eat?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.'" (Matthew 25:37,40)
On a much higher, eternal plane are spiritual hunger and thirst. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6)
"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'" (John 6:35) Like little children, we can go to Him with total confidence in his ability - and desire - to feed our souls and spirits. (No extra "touch of drama" necessary!)
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Isn't it wonderful to know that in Heaven we won't have to worry about these things anymore? Because there "They will neither hunger nor thirst." (Isaiah 49:10) The supply of all the kinds of nourishment we may need will be never-ending, and always available!
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