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

Last time we considered the righteousness aspect of this beatitude. This time, a few thoughts about the hungering and thirsting aspect.

Hunger and thirst are God’s gifts to us to remind us to eat and drink, since both are necessary to remain alive. (I smile at needing to be reminded to eat since I like to eat whether I am hungry or not!)

The three most basic needs to remain alive are air, water, and food.

We can only live without air for a matter of minutes so God graciously ordained us to breathe involuntarily.
The next most important is water, without which we can live only for days before dying of dehydration. Thirst, therefore, is an important reminder to drink since drinking is not an involuntary action.
The third most important is food, without which we can live only for weeks before dying of starvation. And since, like drinking, eating is not an involuntary action, hunger demands that we eat to remain alive.

Deprived of water and food, thirst and hunger are urgent reminders to drink and to eat. And the more thirsty and hungry we are, the more urgent the need to drink and eat is.

Jesus issued a blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. There are two applications. The first refers to hungering and thirsting for righteousness in order to be saved (as discussed yesterday). The second refers to continuing to hunger and thirst for righteousness to remain healthy and to grow spiritually after we are saved.

And why does anyone hunger and thirst in either case? It is by the grace of God to reveal our initial need, and then our continual need for righteousness. Join me in thanking Him, won’t you?