THE BEATITUDES – PART 5

 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Jesus has told the people a couple of times now about being humble, but how do they remain in that state? He tells them (paraphrased) that they shall be content and happy if they hunger (Greek word, pěinaõ [pi-nah-o], implying to crave for) and thirst, as one toiling for daily subsistence after righteousness (Greek word, dikaiŏsunē [dik-ah-yos-oo-nay], coming from dikaiõs [dik-ah-yos], implying to seek after holiness, to be pure and blameless), for their desire to pursue righteousness/holiness shall be filled. God shall provide them with the sustenance needed to continue living in this world, no matter what comes their way.

In this day and age we are fortunate to have the scriptures readily available to us, and to those where this is very challenging, I know God has a plan and a purpose on how to feed you, so be strong in your faith. Jesus requires us to read The Word, to meditate upon it, to make it part of us, to speak to God about it and to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He imparts wisdom and knowledge to us in the understanding of it. We need to be in communication with the Father, worshipping Him, glorifying His name, and at times just being quiet and still before Him.

Jesus is sharing a primary key here, in that only God can fill the heart’s true godly desires to a completeness, a wholeness of self. For not to hear God’s voice and to not be in communion with Him is a travesty.

The psalmist, looking to God for relief during a drought, writes Psalm 85. In verses 10-11 we read: “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.” For righteousness/holiness should be seen as a moral ideal as we seek to reflect the character of Jesus in our own lives.

Let us crave after righteousness; pursue it, for as we do so, our faithfulness to follow the ways of Jesus will result in God’s righteousness coming down upon us. As Peter puts it, let us strive after being holy, for God is holy.