Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Matthew 5:6
A few days ago I shared this same Beatitude and what it means for those who are not saved, or newly saved. Today I want to talk about what it means for those who have been Christians for awhile.
Leviticus 20:26 "And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine." Peter again quotes this verse in the New Testament.
Holiness is something that Christians crave; the righteousness of God in my life. And we can't help but wish this precious gift for others as well. It's hard to explain to those who aren't saved though.
Notice that Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." It's an INTERNAL craving. It's not something we can impose on others, especially if they don't understand the reason for it. Holiness is a personal quest, a sacred journey that each of us who are Christians must work on for ourselves. And in this Beatitude, Jesus promises to help us get there.
In fact, I think this Beatitude hints at the true meaning of Life, which is: to please God. Our life is boot camp for the next life. Testing ground, training ground... we are spiritual toddlers trying to figure out what everything means and bungling our way through life.
Jesus is saying: make it your priority to seek righteousness, and in doing that you will please God. Make it such a habit that you actually "crave" the righteousness that is in Jesus Christ. I would like to mention again, that we can't impose holiness on others. There's a lot of finger pointing going on these days: everybody pointing out the faults of others. That is NOT productive, and it's a distraction from sharing the real gospel of Jesus Christ.
Share Jesus... the Christian message is Jesus! And it's in our own personal journey that we earnestly seek for righteousness.