Hungry for More | Today with Greg Thornton

Food is about more than survival. It can be a pleasure, not only the sensory delights of delicious tastes but also ways to build relationships and memories. A favorite dish might remind you of childhood, or a family celebration might include a special meal.

During His time on earth, Jesus shared meals with His disciples and followers. He was a guest at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1–12). He hosted an outdoor picnic with fish and bread to a crowd of thousands (Matt. 14:13–21), a meal He shared again with His disciples after His resurrection (John 21:13). It is not surprising that Jesus referred to food and hunger when He was teaching spiritual truth. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compared our physical hunger to our spiritual needs: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt. 5:6). And we are promised that this hunger will be met through God: “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst” (Rev. 7:16).

The food we eat and water we drink will never satisfy our deepest longing, which points deeper to our spiritual need: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (Ps. 42:1). Jesus says that we can be fully satisfied only in Him. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

At the Last Supper, sitting around a table with His disciples, Jesus held up a loaf of crusty bread. It was ordinary bread, the basic staple of a dinner table. He prayed, thanking God for this meal. And then He broke it, the breadcrumbs spilling onto the table, a foreshadowing of His death on the cross as the penalty for our sins, so that we could be reconciled to God. “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Only in Jesus, the Bread of Life, can we find the truth that will satisfy our deepest hunger. And He has promised that in Him we will finally be filled.

Dear readers, I want to thank you for praying for Moody, our interim leadership team, and Moody’s trustees during the past months. God answered our prayers about the new president for Moody! In the next issue of Today in the Word, we are excited to welcome our 10th president, Pastor Mark Jobe. We ask for your continued prayers for him and for Moody Bible Institute.

BY Greg Thornton, Interim President of Moody Bible Institute

Greg Thornton is interim president of Moody Bible Institute. During Thornton’s 35 years of ministry at Moody, he has served in various roles, most recently as senior vice president of media. Moody’s Alumni Association named Thornton Alumnus of the Year in 2015. Thornton is a member of The Moody Church, where he serves as an elder. He and his wife, Grace, have been married for more than 35 years and have three children and five grandchildren.