Tuesday, November 1, 2011

November 2, 2011

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6

The words hunger and thirst in Matthew 5:6 suggest a deep, profound, even painful desire that increases with desperation until it is fed.

That's how the kingdom citizen pursues righteousness should be both recurring and ongoing. When we eat a sandwich at lunch, it may hold us for a while, but it doesn't satisfy our hunger for the rest of our lives, Our appetite for righteousness should keep growing. When we lose our appetite for the Lord and His kingdom, when we're just as content with the world's junk food as we are with the Word of God, something is wrong.

Kingdom hunger is:

* an unquenchable desire to know Him;
* a desire to be free from sin because sin separates us from God;
* a desire to be free from the power of sin and controlled by God's Spirit;
* a desire to be free from the desire for sin and eager to please the Father;
* a desire to be like Jesus.

How do we seek righteousness? We let God show us who we really are. We do away with the pretense. As long as we think we're better than most, we are not hungry for righteousenss. Spiritual fulfillment begins with an awareness of our spiritual bankruptcy. We must remove anything that dulls our spiritual appetite, whether it's overtly sinful or not. It might be NFL football, or boating, or a harmless hobby but if it gets in the way of our pursuit of righteousness, it needs to go. Kingdom hunger demands it.

This requires real sacrifice, but it results in real satisfaction because those who orient their "hunger and thirst" in the direction of righteousness are guaranteed to find themselves "filled". When was the last time any sin left you feeling that way?

Are good things in your life keeping you away from the best God Has to offer? Seek His righteousness.