There was not a lot of extra money around my home growing up. I remember winters where my family of 4 would camp out in the living room all season. At the time, I believed this to be a fun tradition that other kids weren’t as fortunate to experience. As I came to a deeper understanding of the realities of life, however, I realized that this practice was a financial decision as it was much less expensive to heat one room of the old house with a kerosene heater than to make use of the electric heat for the entire 6 room abode. This and many other like stories shaped a great deal of my world view. Many of the financially driven experiences of my youth still linger in the decision making process I have today causing me to feel guilty for the things I have, provide for my own family, and am able to give to others. During those childhood years, I remember getting to go out to eat on special occasions. This was a big deal for me. I loved going out to eat. One of my favorite places to go was Ryan’s Steakhouse. I would always order steak tips with onions and peppers. Once they were brought out to the table, I would cover them with A-1 Steak Sauce and feast like a king. During these meals, it felt as if I were enjoying one of the finer things in life. I believed this to be how rich people felt every day.
This affection for Ryan’s steak tips lasted until I was married at 19 years of age. Shortly after being married, someone offered to take my Bride and me to Chop House (I don’t recall who it was that did this for us, but, if I did, I would thank them for everything that meant to me. – another story for another time). I remember the anticipation I felt about this meal. You see, Chop House was the fanciest restaurant I knew of at the time. How were we to dress? What if there was more than 1 fork? Is there a proper way to use a knife?… In my mind, steak was a fancy meal; so, I intended to order steak tips – the fanciest meal I had experienced. Once there, I found that steak tips were not on the menu. I asked for a suggestion on the various steak options – this because I had not realized there were different types of steak. Based on recommendation, I order a filet. This meal changed my life. The filet seemed to melt in my mouth. It had the most wonderful flavor I had ever tasted. It redefined “perfect” in so many ways. From that day to now, I have never ordered the once precious Ryan’s steak tips again. They no longer hit the mark. I knew they would never be satisfying again. I had experienced a meal more fulfilling than I had known existed and could never go back to my old way of life again.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for filet mignon…
Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” Most people I have encountered in life appear to view this verse in one of two ways:
- indifference
- fulfilled
In my opinion, both are very similar. Indifference says more than, “This is not important to me.” We know that because everyone wants to be satisfied. Fulfilled however says, “This is important to me, and I have achieved the goal.” While stating it differently, both are actually saying, “I am satisfied.” This leads me to the point at hand, what does it mean to be satisfied? I believe the majority of people are living a life satisfied by Ryan’s steak tips. But this is only true because they have never experienced a Chop House filet. I am one of those people. For many years, I have felt a desire to understand God and live by His principles. This has resulted in a great deal of blessing and favor over my life – I am satisfied with Heaven’s steak tips!?! I am coming to an understanding that there is more to God than I have lived my life believing. I will never see the full glory of God in this life, but I will begin to live by the promise that as I begin to hunger and thirst for a deeper, truer, more intimate, abiding relationship with God, He will in turn, begin to fulfill those cravings.
May the cravings of your soul ever more be just beyond the reach of current satisfaction.