Hungry?

(From the Greene County Dailies series)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matt. 5:6

Most Americans have never known real hunger—that gnawing in the belly that never goes away because there is never enough to eat.  The same is true of thirst: in times of drought we wonder if the grass or crops will survive, not if we will.  But in Jesus’ day, people lived by what they could earn and buy each day.  Food could often be scarce to non-existent.  The same was true of water.  Thus, hunger and thirst were two incredibly intense drives.

Jesus says the same intensity that we would feel if we were starving is what should drive us toward “righteousness”—right standing before God.  The greatest concern of our lives ought to be, “am I right with God?”  This is what Jesus came to provide; both the knowledge and the basis for being right with God.  The person who discovers this first realizes how much he needs it.  He hungers and thirsts to know God.  Have you come to the place where being right with God is all that matters?  If you have, then Jesus can satisfy.  Come to him!