Hidden Snickers

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33 ESV). There are some things in life that are just more temptation than I can withstand. Bite-size Snickers are one of those things! Mary knows my weaknesses very well and helps all she can. The “pantry” in our apartment is pretty small, which means that some stuff gets pushed to the back of the cabinet while others make their way to the front. Of course, the Lucky Charms are at the front and the real food is more toward the back. There’s no sense in taking up the good spots with the healthy foods! Not long ago I was looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth and nothing really struck my fancy. I began to rummage deeper into the back of the cabinet and there it was! Sitting at the back was a whole bag of bite-size Snickers! There were hidden from view by the low calorie popcorn! I can tell you that I was satisfied immediately! I just wish it was that easy to be satisfied in life. It always seems so hard, doesn’t it? We seek fulfillment, purpose, or meaning from this world and from human accomplishments all too often. There is nothing in the world that will fill the deepest void in your life. King Solomon, one of the wealthiest men who ever lived, had everything he wanted. Yet, after trying to satisfy his appetites with all the wrong things, his conclusion was, "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Even bite-size Snickers won’t satisfy this deep hunger in our souls. We were created to love God, to know God, and to bear fruit. Everything else is secondary. Think about it: everything else in life, every other responsibility, no matter how significant, must be ordered behind the central purpose of our existence on earth. It is in this dynamic relationship with our heavenly Father that we find satisfaction. This is the impact of Jesus’ words in our reading today. No matter how great our “kingdom” is on this earth, it will not satisfy. Search for the kingdom of God and you will find everything you have been looking for and some of that which you only hoped to find. All of it will be yours. He gives it to us as we seek Him. And, He is so easy to find! You don’t need to dig very deep. Look in your heart. He is there waiting to fellowship with you.