Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

At one time in my life, I tried an all liquid diet. On this diet the only food you consumed throughout the day is three drinks. These shakes give you high nutritional value with few calories. In essence you are fasting with liquid vitamins. They say that the first three or four days of the diet are the worst, as your body gets used to not having food. After that it becomes much easier. I use the phrase “they say” because I cannot speak from experience. After day two I succumbed to the overwhelming desire to eat. It was here that I understood the concept of hunger. My mouth was constantly salivating. My mind kept drifting towards visions of Mexican food. I craved it, and I felt the effects all through my body.

It was this experience which helped me understand the idea of hungering for righteousness. God does not want righteousness to be a mere hobby or passing fancy. He wants it to consume us. We need to crave it. Our mind should be constantly thinking about it. We should be salivating at the chance to become righteous. Often times Christians go through life with no more than a strong preference for righteousness. God wants us to hunger for it. Our mind should be salivating for righteousness and ways to learn how to be more righteous. Hopefully are minds continually come back and focus on righteousness. And if ever we are without it, every effort should be made to refill our plate.

On the positive side, Jesus here promises us that if we do hunger after it, we will be satisfied. It is always sad to know of people who had a great dream, a great passion they were never able to realize. How great a blessing it is to know that we can achieve our great passion. We can go forth with confidence that if we hunger after righteousness, God will grant it to us.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.