The Hunger of the Soul

<p>THE HUNGER OF THE SOUL</p> <p>In John Chapter four when Jesus sat by the well and asked a woman for a drink of water and then offered her the wellspring of everlasting life he gave her healing for the emotional thirst of her soul and an understanding of the Father’s love for her. She had entered a new life of hope and faith that was to last forever. Then his disciples arrived with food for them all to share. </p> <p>John 4:27 The disciples were surprised to find Jesus talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why, or what they had been discussing. Then the woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village and told everyone, "Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Christ?"  So the people came streaming from the village wanting to see him. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus to eat. "No," he said, "I have some food you know nothing about." "Who brought it to him?" the disciples asked each other. Then Jesus explained: "My food comes from doing the will of God who sent me, and from finishing his work. </p> <p>Just as Jesus had taught the woman at the well the difference between spiritual thirst and natural thirst Jesus was now about to teach his disciples the difference between spiritual hunger and natural hunger. He explained that his spiritual food was the energy that empowered his soul to live a life of surrendering his will to the will of his Father. What Jesus was saying to them was this. ‘I don’t need any natural food right now, as I have just been nourished and energised by doing what the father wanted me to do here in this place, and there’s more here yet for all of us to do’. Jesus knew that the crowds of Samaritans from the village were on their way and that he and his disciples would soon be ministering to them because of the woman’s testimony to them, and when Jesus saw the people running down the hill he said to the disciples.</p> <p>Vs. 35 ‘Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months