This last Tuesday evening it was getting to be about supper time, I had been working outside for a while, and the sun was beating down on me. I was thirsty and very hungry. I was so hungry that when my daughter came to call me for supper, I stopped what I was doing and I went inside immediately. I had a need, and I knew a short walk would fill that need and I would have the energy to continue on with the task with which I was busy. What if I would have just stayed outside and kept working? We all have done it before I am sure. Worked through lunch, worked through dinner. Whatever we were working on became our main focus. Yet, at some point, we had to eat and drink for our survival.
Jesus said, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is the natural result of some of the things you would find leading up to Matthew 5:6. The poor in spirit need God. The mourner had a need for comfort. The meek are subordinate to the Lord. If your desire is to feast on righteousness, you will understand why you need it and how to acquire it.
What is righteousness anyway? The Koine Greek word is dikaiosune meaning righteousness or justice. This carries the idea of doing what God approves of. It is written “Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed” Isaiah 56:1. God links righteousness and justice in the Old Testament again, To seek justice is to seek righteousness. “It is joy to the righteous to do justice; But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity” Proverbs 21:15. Joy is directly related to doing justice which makes one righteous. There is no wonder that Jesus said blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Our appetite for things of a spiritual nature coincides with God’s intent to bless man. “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say” (Amos 5:14). God wants us to live and to live so abundantly (John 10:10). If we seek righteousness, we will seek God.
When we have an appetite for spiritual things we are satisfying a basic need of all man. God’s Word says, “This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). The whole of man is found in our relationship with God, the source of all spiritual food. Jesus recognized this when He said to His disciples, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:24).
We will also mature by feasting on righteousness. When we are babies, we move from milk to mush and then to solid food. Our spiritual maturity is dependent on moving onward from the doctrines of first principles (cf. Heb. 6:1). We will continue to grow and mature as we seek righteousness wholeheartedly.
Are you hungry? I am sure you are daily. Are you thirsty? What is your hunger level or your thirst level for righteousness? What needs to change to increase your appetite? What are the spiritual health benefits you have received thus far? Well, it all depends on your appetite.
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
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