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“Father,” she said, “I’m hungry. Will you give me something to eat?”

“First you must tell me why you are hungry and how I am able to feed you.”

“I’m hungry because I need to eat, and you’re able to feed me because you’re my father.”

“That’s only partly true. Go to your room and come back when you know the whole truth.”

So the little girl went away a little hurt, confused and still hungry. Later that night while her father ate dinner at a table filled with deliciously prepared meal, she came to him again.

“Father,” she said, “I’m hungry. Will you please give me something to eat?”

“First you must tell me why you are hungry and how I am able to feed you.”

“I am hungry because my stomach is empty, and you are able to feed me because you grow food in our fields.”

“What you have said is more true than before, but there is still much you do not understand. Go to bed and come to me when you know the whole truth.”

Every day the little girl grew hungrier and weaker than the day before, and every day she begged and her father for mercy. Yet she still did not fully understanding why she needed it, or how he was able to give it. So every day he turned her away.

Several weeks passed and eventually the little girl died of starvation. At her death bed the father lamented, “If only you knew that your hunger wasn’t a temporary problem, but that you were born without the ability to sustain yourself. If only you knew that your food came by the seeds of the earth, the rain from the sky, the rays of the sun, and the work of my hands. Then, you could have admitted your brokenness and weakness in full humility, and truly realized your utter dependence on my work and sacrifice.