Hungry Again?

"When are we going to eat?" Henry asked as he and the others in his Sunday school class hiked down a trail in a national forest. For weeks the class of sixth-grade boys had been planning this outing--a couple days of backpacking, cooking over a campfire, and sleeping under the stars. "My stomach has been growling for an hour," Henry said.

"Mine too," said Connor. "I hope we stop soon."

"It won't be too long now," Mr. Larson assured them, and soon they came to the place where they were going to set up camp. "This is it, boys," said Mr. Larson.

"Good! When do we eat?" Henry asked again.

Mr. Larson smiled. "We'll start a fire right away, and then we'll fix supper. You can all help gather wood for the campfire."

The boys got to work, and soon they were eating beef stew from tin mugs. "Yum! This tastes better out here than it does at home!" declared Connor, and everyone agreed. After supper, they played games and told stories around the fire.

"Do we have any more food?" asked Henry after a while. "I'm hungry again!" "Me too," echoed several other boys.

Mr. Larson nodded. "Okay. We'll have a snack in a few minutes, but first, let's have some spiritual food," he said, getting out his Bible. "Who can remember the Bible verses we've studied in class so far this year?"

The boys began to recite the verses and were doing fine until someone said, "I am the Bread of Life." Everyone moaned in hunger.

"Okay, okay!" Mr. Larson laughed. "We'll eat. But while you eat your snacks, I want you to think about something. How do you think you'll feel when you wake up in the morning?"

Several voices gave the same answer. "Hungry!"

Mr. Larson nodded. "That's because the food we eat only satisfies us for a short time. But when Jesus calls Himself the Bread of Life, He means He can satisfy our spiritual hunger forever. The grace, peace, and life we have through Him will never end."

Mr. Larson pulled some fruit, cookies, and crackers from his backpack. "Okay, boys," he said. "Let's eat!" Raelene E. Phillips