"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6)What do you hunger and thirst for?
* For a certain someone to love you?
* To have a particular house, or job?
* To have a baby?
* To have more money, or possessions?
* To have beauty, or influence, or success?
Do you and I want righteousnes as much as we hunger for those kind of things? Do we want goodness, or virtue, as much as a starving person wants food, or as much as a parched person wants water?
This is a longing to be holy, longing to overcome temptation, to have the fruit of the Spirit, to love God passionately, to have all that God has for you, to be conformed exactly to Christ.
The way Jesus phrased this blessing, He didn’t mean “I am hungry for some goodness” or for “some” righteousness. He meant all of goodness, complete righteousness.
Often that is exactly where you and I fail. We’re content with mostly good, mostly righteous.
“I do my best!”
"I’m better than a lot of people!”
“That’s just my personality type!”
“Well, I may have my faults, but I’m generous and kind!”
Partial goodness.
Partial righteousness.
When you’re hungry, the only way to be satisfied is to eat. And when you hunger and thirst after righteousness, then you will only be satisfied with God’s word.
You might be experiencing this very thing right now --> you want even more than what your daily study is giving you. That’s the Holy Spirit within you. When you receive Christ’s Spirit, then you are filled with all that can satisfy your spiritual hunger.
“Oh how serene and joyful, how filled with God’s goodness is the person who longs for total righteousness like a starving person longs for food and a person dying of thirst longs for water, because that person will be truly satisfied”
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