“God gets our attention with physical blessings so that we will learn to appreciate eternal blessings. This is how God encourages us to expect eternal life. God’s purpose in giving us food and water isn’t merely that we eat and drink without thinking, as horses and donkeys do. Rather he gives us physical blessings so that we will realize that He is loving and kind. This will help us to believe he will take care of all our needs.”
Martin Luther in Today’s Language in Faith Alone: A Devotional, ed. James C. Galvin (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), November 26 reading.