Matthew 5:6 (KJV) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
A newborn baby lives for just two things. Their first priority is to eat. They have a desperate hunger and cannot be satisfied with anything but that which will fill their emptiness. They also need to be loved. That is another kind of emptiness that needs to be filled. There is nothing so sweet as the picture of a trembling, crying infant nestled in the arms of his mother and finding that place where he can feed both body and soul. Christians are not so different. Scripture speaks of our new birth and the growth that believers experience. The call of Christ for us to “hunger for righteousness” often stands in stark contrast to the slick, worldly, self-satisfied, and half-hearted religion of so many churches today. Jesus left no room for the unrepentant or self satisfied in the Kingdom of Heaven. If we are going to receive, we must empty ourselves and love God with all of our heart and soul.
When Jesus spoke to the seven churches of Asia He had a dire warning to the church at Laodicea. I like the language used in the God’s Word version,
“I know what you have done, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. But since you are lukewarm and not hot or cold, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I'm rich. I'm wealthy. I don't need anything.' Yet, you do not realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you: Buy gold purified in fire from me so that you may be rich. Buy white clothes from me. Wear them so that you may keep your shameful, naked body from showing. Buy ointment to put on your eyes so that you may see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. Take this seriously, and change the way you think and act.” Revelation 3:15-19 (GW)
This pictures a people that were not poor in spirit but self satisfied and content, they no longer mourned their sin but boasted of their sufficiency, they were full of themselves and left no room for God in their lives. How could they hunger and thirst for righteousness? They saw no need for it. They saw themselves rich, wealthy, and in need of nothing. Jesus saw them much differently. They were miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. If only they had seen themselves this way, they would have cried out and God would have filled them, clothed them, and given them Heaven and Earth. They were positioned for great blessing but because of their spiritual blindness and lack of hunger they were going to lose everything. Jesus warned them, “Take this seriously and change the way you think and act.” There might be no better way to describe the work of hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
When we are no longer satisfied with this world and we cry out for the Holy Spirit to lead us into the paths of righteousness, we are on the right path. When we long for a new way, a new song, a new life that is changed by the hand of God, we are pursuing real gold that has been tried in the fire. John was writing to “The Church at Laodicea” but really he was writing to people. The Church is a spiritual corporation that God has established and works through, but it is only as viable as the people that form it. When we hunger and thirst for the way, the truth, and the life of God, we will be filled. When we are filled with the righteousness of God and walk in His light the Church will be positioned to reach the world with the Good News and Jesus will glorified in all the earth.
A newborn baby lives for just two things. Their first priority is to eat. They have a desperate hunger and cannot be satisfied with anything but that which will fill their emptiness. They also need to be loved. That is another kind of emptiness that needs to be filled. There is nothing so sweet as the picture of a trembling, crying infant nestled in the arms of his mother and finding that place where he can feed both body and soul. Christians are not so different. Scripture speaks of our new birth and the growth that believers experience. The call of Christ for us to “hunger for righteousness” often stands in stark contrast to the slick, worldly, self-satisfied, and half-hearted religion of so many churches today. Jesus left no room for the unrepentant or self satisfied in the Kingdom of Heaven. If we are going to receive, we must empty ourselves and love God with all of our heart and soul.
When Jesus spoke to the seven churches of Asia He had a dire warning to the church at Laodicea. I like the language used in the God’s Word version,
“I know what you have done, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. But since you are lukewarm and not hot or cold, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I'm rich. I'm wealthy. I don't need anything.' Yet, you do not realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you: Buy gold purified in fire from me so that you may be rich. Buy white clothes from me. Wear them so that you may keep your shameful, naked body from showing. Buy ointment to put on your eyes so that you may see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. Take this seriously, and change the way you think and act.” Revelation 3:15-19 (GW)
This pictures a people that were not poor in spirit but self satisfied and content, they no longer mourned their sin but boasted of their sufficiency, they were full of themselves and left no room for God in their lives. How could they hunger and thirst for righteousness? They saw no need for it. They saw themselves rich, wealthy, and in need of nothing. Jesus saw them much differently. They were miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. If only they had seen themselves this way, they would have cried out and God would have filled them, clothed them, and given them Heaven and Earth. They were positioned for great blessing but because of their spiritual blindness and lack of hunger they were going to lose everything. Jesus warned them, “Take this seriously and change the way you think and act.” There might be no better way to describe the work of hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
When we are no longer satisfied with this world and we cry out for the Holy Spirit to lead us into the paths of righteousness, we are on the right path. When we long for a new way, a new song, a new life that is changed by the hand of God, we are pursuing real gold that has been tried in the fire. John was writing to “The Church at Laodicea” but really he was writing to people. The Church is a spiritual corporation that God has established and works through, but it is only as viable as the people that form it. When we hunger and thirst for the way, the truth, and the life of God, we will be filled. When we are filled with the righteousness of God and walk in His light the Church will be positioned to reach the world with the Good News and Jesus will glorified in all the earth.
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