Believe it or not, I have heard people make the statement, “I was so busy today I forgot to eat.” Are you serious? I can’t remember one time in my life when I forgot to eat. I have always found time to put food in my mouth. Even on days when I have been extremely busy, with a very long list of things to accomplish on my to-do list…I haven’t let anything get in my way of consuming food.
I thought about this as I read this week’s beatitude, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt 5:6). What does it mean to hunger and thirst not for food, but for righteousness?
If we look at the definition of righteousness, we find it means morally right or justifiable; to be free from guilt or sin. Since we are human, we know that on our own we can never be perfect in this, but the God we serve can be and is free from all guilt and sin. If that is true, then this beatitude is telling us we need to strive, with everything we have, to be like Him. To make it personal, just like I never let anything get in my way of eating, I should never let anything get in my way of being in a right relationship with my Jesus.
I love what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-11 and I especially like the way these verses are worded in the version The Message. It says, “The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash – along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant – dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ – God’s righteousness.
I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience hisresurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to deathitself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to doit.”
Paul was willing to give up anything and everything to know Christ more. His family, friendships, his freedom – in order to know Christ and experience His power. We too have access to this knowledge and this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully. To know Christ should be our ultimate goal.
If we really walk through each day “hungering and thirsting” to be more like our Jesus, I believe it will affect everything we do. It will affect our speech, our actions, our reactions and our behavior. It will make a difference in how we view those with whom He puts in our path. We will care more and love more. We will be willing to stand up for what is right in God’s eyes, not what is right in the world’s eyes. We will not live each day striving to be popular and accepted, but spend every moment displaying His truths and desires for us. Only then can we be filled with all that He has for us.
I think it all comes down to asking ourselves, “How hungry are we for righteousness?” Are we hungry enough to realign our hectic schedule to spend time in prayer and Bible study? Are we hungrier when we get up in the morning to open His Word…or check Facebook? Are we willing to give up some of our plans or pleasures…or even a friend’s approval…to thirst after Christ? No matter the cost, knowing our Jesus more and being in a right relationship with Him will make it all worthwhile.
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