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Our bodies
will fail and fail far too soon. "You are a mist that appears
for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14). What
business person would invest in a market he knows to be rapidly
and finally declining? Yet that same shrewd investor forgets
the greatest truth about profit and loss. "What good will
it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his
soul?" (Matthew 16:26).
Your visit
to World Bible School suggests you want to make a life, not just
a living. Jesus encourages you in your search when he advises,
"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures
to eternal life" (John 6:27). Don't run for your dinner,
run for your life!
While on
earth, food was about the last thing on the mind of Jesus. He
begins His special work by fasting for forty days (Luke 4:2).
Later, He turns down the offer of a much-needed meal. Why? "My
food," He answers, "is to do the will of Him who sent
Me and to finish His work" (John 4:34).
The will
of God! This alone fills and satisfies Jesus. He craves soul
satisfaction as a starving man craves food. He calls us to have
this same priority in our lives: "So do not worry, saying,
'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall
we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given
to you as well" (Matthew 6:31-33).
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Your
success in life's race depends on your reason for running. One
of Aesop's fables tells of a dog that stumbled upon a hare. Swift
and determined, the hound chased the hare over many miles. Finally,
the hound gave up in exhaustion. Seeing the race, a by-stander
praised the hero-hare. He mocked the loser. Indignantly the hound
replied, "You forget that it is one thing to run for your
dinner and another to run for your life."
