Food Forgetfulness

His favorite place to perch is the rug right in front of his feeding area. It doesn’t matter if he’s been out snooping around the yard for just an hour after the last feeding. When he comes in, he heads for the feeding place and presents his practiced look of please-feed-me-I’m-starving. According to the

cat-age calculator you can find on the internet (for real), our 16-year-old rescue cat, Augie, is comparable in age span to an 80-year-old human. Maybe that explains his apparent memory failures regarding his last meal or snack.  Despite frequent snacks, he has neither cartoon-cat-Garfield girth nor wild-cat-scrawniness. When we take him in for his license-required rabies shot, the vet assistant who weighs him often remarks, “Wow, he’s a big fellow.”  Not that he’d break any records like some You-Tube tubbies....

 

One thing Augie’s “hunger pose” reminds me of is my own hunger for things that really matter.  I’m not talking about personal favorites, like split pea soup, green bell peppers, and chocolate ice cream.  Rather, it’s spiritual hunger, as in this “appetite” metaphor of Jeremiah 15:16: Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (KJV)

Jeremiah didn’t actually chew and swallow the scriptures (leave that for another prophecy, found in Ezekiel 3:1-3). A more recent translation of Jeremiah 15:16 goes:

Your words are what sustain me.  They bring me great joy and are my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty. (TEV)

Basically Jeremiah was saying, “I’m hungry for the Word of God.  It satisfies me spiritually like nothing else because I belong to the Author.”  The verse comes in the context of a lament about how far his nation had strayed from God.  In fact, he even wishes for a moment that he hadn’t been born (v. 10). He’s preaching God’s judgment on national sins, and nobody wants to hear that message. His only solace is going back to the pure spiritual food of God’s Word.  For him, this meant the Pentateuch (first five books), psalms and proverbs.  God tells him not to give up the spiritual learning curve or preaching about God’s holiness.  “If you speak words that are worthy,” God told the prophet, “you will be my spokesman” (v. 19). As I witness the spiritual decline of my times, I realize God could use many more as spokespeople speaking out Truth, no matter how unpopular.

 Our adequately-fed cat also has “cat treats,” little nuggets of intense flavor (one package we bought on sale boasts of “catnip” flavor). But we don’t get true spiritual nourishment by gobbling devotional treats—the “in-and-out-in-a-minute” type. They’re better than nothing, but real spiritual nourishment comes with thoughtful, application-oriented reading of scriptures. And even though I make fun of my cat’s senile forgetfulness about his last meal, it’s okay to have a healthy appetite for the Word of God, finding in it the joy and rejoicing of my heart.