“Blessed are they those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. -Matthew 5:6

What is the hungriest you have ever been? How about thirsty? That question is obviously relative. Many of us have never really known what it means to be hungry. One statistic I read said that every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger. That means by the time I finish writing this post, roughly 167 people died of hunger. What an alarming and sad statistic. It’s one that I am not sure I can get my head around. So I had to bring it closer to home.

Have you ever noticed the lines at Starbucks and Tim Hortons in the morning for coffee? I’m not a coffee drinker so I am always amused when I pass by. That is not to say that I’m not without my vices. If I don’t get a Diet Coke and spoonful of Peanut Butter or Pop Tart in the morning, you don’t want to be near me. I can safely say that I hunger and thirst for these things before all others in the morning. Sadly, they come before devotions and even a simple prayer to say “thanks for one more day”.

The hunger that Jesus was referring to was priority one. It is an urgency. It is a vital to life kind of hunger. The same hunger he referred to when he said to “Seek ye FIRST” (Matthew 6:33). What are we to hunger after? One resource I read said that righteousness can be defined as “nature of God, justice, truth, mercy, love”. 7 words with huge impact. Imagine beginning all things, all situations, all opportunities by seeking the nature of God, justice, truth, mercy and love. Imagine what life would be like if we filtered everything through this list of righteousness.

One final thought. Note that Jesus said “those who hunger and thirst” and not “those that have achieved”. We’re still on the journey. We’re still striving and being refined to be like Christ and achieve righteousness. Jesus understood that and encouraged us to stay the course. Stay hungry. Stay Thirsty.

Dependence on God = Poor in spirit
Grief for fallen condition = Those who mourn
Approach God with humility = The meek
Desire to be transformed = Hunger and Thirst

Tomorrow: Blessed are the Merciful

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