Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness

Jesus was a revolutionary teacher, not just for his day, but for all time. 2,000 years ago in Israel, Jesus preached the famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Matt 5), this sermon, along with many other teachings, enraged the religious leaders of his day. Even today this message is still relevant , the words in this sermon are in direct contrast to the various ways of life our world promotes. Further to that, this message is totally opposite to the selfish, prideful, sinful heart of man that has been present since the Fall. I could spend much time writing and talking about how the various beatitudes individually stand in stark contrast to the way of the world, however, I will share the one that is particularly on my heart.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

    For they shall be filled.”

My previous post laid out the idea that we are hungry and thirsty people, and here in Matthew 5:6 we see the very thing we ought to be hungering and thirsting for. I thought it would be helpful to understand what it means to ‘hunger and thirst after righteousness’, and also, why this is so relevant and important for us today.

What is righteousness?

When I really thought about it, I wasn't sure what ‘righteousness’ exactly was. I knew in essence what it was, but it wasn’t something I could precisely sum up in a few words. So I spoke to some wonderful people about what they thought righteousness was. “Righteousness is right standing with God, Always.” “It’s something given by Him.” “It’s being in the right relationship with God.”  These are certainly helpful pointers in the right direction. The Bible makes it clear righteousness is something we can never obtain on our own, why? Because it was something Christ gave us when he died as a sacrifice for our sins, 2 Corinthians 5:21 - “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” And also, righteousness is also something to do with having a living relationship with God, Romans 1:17 - “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ ” See, on the cross, Jesus took on every wrong thing we have done and will do, and by taking on our human nature he gave us the opportunity to be clothed in his perfect righteousness, so that when we come before God on this earth and on Judgement Day, he sees us as he would see Jesus - ready and able to partake in a living, breathing, tangible relationship. Jesus has paid the debt, He is our ‘righteousness’.

How do I pursue something I have been given?

There are two ways to look at righteousness, one is the part of righteousness that justifies us before the throne of God, this can’t be pursued, because it is a gift. However, while I live on earth, among sin and temptation, I find myself not living as I should - the fact I am eternally justified through Christ’s righteousness doesn't mean that I live a perfect life. So still, we have to strive to be made more like Jesus, we have to chase after righteousness. In reality, this is really just chasing after the ways of Jesus, i.e. living like him. Our lives are not our own, but rather opportunities to reflect and show the glory and ways of God as realities to those around us, so we will find no greater joy or satisfaction than in walking with God and pursuing His righteousness.

In this festive season, when the fact that the living God came to restore our broken relationship with Himself is covered over with tinsel, presents and christmas turkeys, I’m taking a moment to remember where true satisfaction is from. For me, hungering and thirsting after righteousness strikes a chord, and so with all the gifts around me, I will seek God to fill me up with true joy and satisfaction rather than counting on the ‘Christmas Spirit’ to bring me a sense of fulfilment. 

This holiday, lets do as Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” If we want to see the reality of God in our lives, changing us and motivating us towards Godliness, let us seek his heart and his righteousness, let him work through us and fill us daily with his grace and mercy, bringing us closer to his heart. Seeking God will bring far more satisfaction to our hunger and thirst than any gift this Christmas, I know this, yet so often I don’t act like I do. Today, let us fall at the foot of the cross, looking to Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who is the only one who can bring us fullness of joy both in this Christmas and forever in our walk with God. Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Matthew 5

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

    For they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

    For they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

    For they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

    For they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

    For they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

    For they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

    For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Why am I complacent towards God?

I've been thinking about adding to these poems and scribblings for a while, and I have been writing a really nerdy theology essay on the early Church realising its identity, however my dad suggested that I write the things that were on my heart rather than on my mind, so below are some thoughts on something that been a real challenge for me - Why am I complacent towards my great God? Why are we complacent towards my great God? I'd like to know your thoughts too.

Getting our priorities right.

A large part of this comes down to our personal relationship with God. In a way, I’m not talking about prayer or even reading the Bible (calm down brethren - there is good reason!), Im talking about our motivation to first see God glorified and made big in both our current and future lives. After all, isn’t this why we are here - to make much of God? If God meant all that he should mean to us then our life plans will revolve around him, rather than careers, potential spouses, university, etc… Our goals, attitudes and actions will be guided by the knowledge that He is Lord and all we have is rightfully His. Of course these things are important to think about, some of them are even necessary for life, however, if God isn’t the reason for them, they lack any satisfactory significance or importance - “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” If this happens, then everything will follow, whether that be personal devotion, prayer, or plans for life, you will find that they come far more easily than ever before. I was talking about this topic with a friend, and what he said to me particularly struck a chord, “From my perspective unless one has a relationship (by that I mean one whereby God is an ever present presence due to your fervency, so much so that the Holy Spirit becomes tangible in your daily living) with God, how can we be expected to prioritise Him and give credence to the things of God? But it follows naturally, that someone can only get to that place after prioritising Him.”

We are thirsty people.

How many times have our hands tapped, our eyes flicked and our knuckles cracked as we wait for the prayer time to end? When was the last time we really enjoyed praying? When was the last time we felt God speaking to us? When was the last time we felt God’s tangible presence in our prayer times? (That escalated quickly) The great thing about us humans is that we are thirsty people. We have a natural urge within ourselves to be fulfilled, to be satisfied. This thirst should make me want to chase after the living water of Jesus, but instead I try to find different things that may take the edge off my thirst, things such as social media, competitive sport, even something mundane like going to the gym. We see it all around us; advertisements promoting various products that will fill our time and bring us happiness, gadgets that will tire us out, then pills that will heal us and give us the rest needed to start the process all over again. When we compare the attitudes of our secular driven society, to that of the Word of God, we see a huge difference. Jesus says in Matthew 11, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” In our world, which loads our bodies and minds with media, solutions and temporary satisfaction, lets make the conscious choice to lay that at the foot of the cross, and give ourselves over to the freedom and satisfaction of Jesus, that will forever quench our thirst. 

We are hungry people.

I am a pendulum, I literally swing between praying intensely and praying lightly. One day I'm striving for revival, and then the next day, I'm waiting for the prayer meeting to end so I can check my whatsapp. But how, in any way, shape or form, is this consistent with the life of a spirit-filled believer? The answer is simply that its not. My lack lustre sense of devotion, my inability to close my eyes and pray alone, my ineptitude at seeking first the kingdom of God rather than checking my news feed is all part of this inconsistency. Devotion demands consistency. Now I’m sure you can just read the biography of a Christian to know that walking with Jesus isn’t an easy feat, that it is full of of distractions, but I’m also sure, that all these people would say with confidence that the joy of walking with Jesus, far outweighs the pain of not seeking him. See, week after week, we can feel justified by attending church and even a mid-week meeting, yet our hearts and minds are still on our computer screens or Facebook profiles. We might even consider personal devotions once in a while - yet still we find a distinct lack of satisfaction hangs over us. There is no better advice I can give that to get on and change it. Both a friend and my Dad recommended this idea to me: ‘The solution to hunger is to keep an energy bar with you at all times - so keep the word of God flowing through you at all times. Instead of checking your Facebook feed every ten minutes to see what friends are saying, lets check the word regularly to see what our God is saying.’

Is there a solution?

David is the prime example of a man who saw both ends of this process, and who in my mind found ‘balance’ to the pendulum, in the Psalms he provides us with a solution for when feel spiritually dry and unable to seek God.

“O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You;

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.”

Here, David lays out his desire to seek God. In a world where sin runs rampant, in a spiritually dry and empty land, he seeks for God to satisfy his thirst and saturate his heart. David’s search for God begins ASAP, early in the morning, as soon as he gets up - “Early will I seek you”. Why? Because he has thirst which he knows only God can quench. His very body longs for God, and he wants to spend every moment filling himself with God. Joshua also proclaims a process of passionate living, “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!”

Just reread this verse, notice the elements mentioned: fear of the Lord, service, sincerity, truth and commitment. Look at your heart, at society, look at social media, look at sport, at romance, at anything in which we are able to participate in - even church. How many of these things are full of this list? Its up to us to ask God to let his Spirit flow through us and make the changes needed in the world. Just look at the lives of Joshua and David, they are prime examples of walking with God. They were men after God’s own heart - and I don’t see why we can’t be sons and daughter after the Father’s heart either? I want to be a man after God’s own heart, but in all honesty, I’m a disgraceful failure; however, God in his great love for us died to give us life and relationship, to give us an opportunity to ‘start again’, to give us the opportunity to chase him. Today is a great time to start.