Eat and be Satisfied!

Yesterday was a hard day for my son. He is 7, he is extremely picky and he is stubborn. Not a good mix! Especially at the dinner table.

I admit, we have been lax in this area. We are changing our ways and setting up some hard rules. Eat what is put before you or don’t eat. It’s that simple. I know. We are mean and he is going to starve, at least that is what he tells us as he lifts up his shirt and sucks in his stomach as far as he can muster so we can see the damaging results of our new rules.

On Easter we had a wonderful ham that our dear friend Linda prepared. Jeremiah had nothing but praise for this ham. We heard “this is the best ham I ever had!” at least ten times at the supper table.

The very next day we are sitting at our dinner table with a nice spiral ham I had bought as our centerpiece. It smelled heavenly. Jeremiah couldn’t wait. My hubby placed a piece of ham on Jeremiah’s plate, he took a bite and immediately told us this ham tastes like soap. He refused to eat it. He wanted something different. Something better. He wanted Ms. Linda’s ham. Not ours.

What was wrong with the ham? Both my husband and I took I bite, expecting a “bad” ham. Nope. If you put Ms. Linda’s ham and ours in a blindfolded taste test, you’d have a hard time telling them apart.

So…what was the deal? At one point in our frustrating conversation he did mention the bone protruding from the ham looked gross. I tried to explain to him that Ms. Linda’s ham had a bone too, but it was in the pan and he didn’t see it. It made no difference. He refused to accept the facts and he refused to eat the ham. Which meant, he went an entire day without eating. He didn’t eat breakfast. And our dinner hour is more like a late lunch. We offered him ham several times through out the evening. He got really desperate and accepted only to tell me to forget it when he took the tiniest of bites.

He went to bed hungry. I felt bad. Yet, at the same time, I know that in the long run, this is the best thing we can do for him.

I imagine this is how God feels when we stubbornly choose to hold on to our sin. He pleads with us. I have a better way, a way that will leave you full and satisfied.

Psalm 34:8 tells to “taste and see that the Lord is good…” He says…here, have a bite. I am not bitter. I am not salty and I definitely don’t taste like soap.

John 6:35 reads: I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

First, we must take a bite. We must taste and see that indeed the Lord is good. We must step out in faith. We cannot stubbornly hold onto our sin, our fleshly desires, and think we will be satisfied. We will continually hunger and thirst until we partake of the One who will sustain us forever.