Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst

Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
For they shall be filled.”
 
                “Righteousness” spoken of here is the very “moral perfection” of God, His very attributes pursued and practiced in our own lives due to a desire to fall more in love with Jesus and to serve Him only. There are many things of this world in which we can be moved to “hunger and thirst” after, driven by our own natural desires, only to find that such things are always fleeting, never providing lasting fulfillment. A genuine hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God can never be merely a religious practice, for false pursuits after righteousness are easily recognized as counterfeit by the Lord and those around us. Being filled with the righteousness of God is only possible through a sincere desire to walk more closely with the Lord in prayer, study of His word, and a willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit in our lives.
 
                The following statement reflects the Lord’s emphasis on the condition of the heart as it relates to the Pursuit of True Righteousness:
 
        God regards the state of the heart as of supreme importance. He does not consider that we can have clean hands if we do not possess a pure heart…But the purity of heart has a wonderful reward reserved for it – the vision of God…Here as elsewhere, there is an essential connection between the grace and the reward. Sin blinds the soul; purity is clear-eyed in the spiritual world. Moreover, it is only to the pure in heart that the vision of God can be a reward.
             (W.F. Adeney,Five Gate to Happiness: Homiletics Commentary) 

             Therefore, it is in a desire to pursue the righteousness of God, and having the willingness to be used of God to have this righteousness overflow from one’s own heart into the lives of others, does the true blessing come. As stated above, “It is only to the pure in heart that the vision of God can be a reward.” The blessing of being filled with the goodness, joy, and peace of God comes only through the hunger and thirst for the things that are most precious to Him. As Christ came to save, His earthly ministry also involved revealing to His followers and to us what most pleased His Father. By living in the righteousness of God, we are truly blessed and share that blessing as our lives overflow into the lives of others.
 
Connecting Faith & Life:
 
                Father, thank You today for Your promise to both bless and fill our lives with more of Yourself as we pursue righteousness. May our lives reflect Your goodness, joy, grace, mercy, and kindness toward others resulting from a sincere desire to walk more closely with You. May we indeed, hunger and thirst for Your righteousness moment by moment, day by day. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 
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