This verse is easily passed over as part of the Beatitudes, Jesus¡ teaching on what it looks like to be his follower.

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

Defining righteousness could involve another study. In short, for this meditation, I'll use: right standing with God, holiness, honesty and virtue.

The words hunger and thirst stood out to me. Relatively few of us know what it means to hunger-really hunger. Not simply wanting dinner or having a desire for a certain food. Probably few of those reading this have missed a meal. I don¡t know what going hungry means. I've been disappointed when I've been unable to afford the dish I craved and had to eat a lesser meal, but I haven¡t hungered.

As for thirst, I have slightly more understanding of it. After a long walk on a hot day or a workout at the gym, I've been thirsty, but never for more than a couple hours. No, I don't know what it means to thirst.

Never has hunger and thirst threatened my life.

Matthew 5:6 speaks of hungering and thirsting for right standing with God, for holiness. Jesus spoke these words to the crowd of people following him. Many of them likely understood physical deprivation.

A starving person might do anything for a meal, or for a cup of water. They would give up anything to be satisfied. True hunger and thirst are strong primal urges. They involve life and death. If we are honest we are a starving people. We are deprived of God's righteousness by our own desire for comfort.

Contemplating this verse, one of the Beatitudes, has caused me to wonder how strong is my hunger? Having been forgiven my sin, do I have a continuing desire for personal righteousness?

I suppose spiritual hunger and thirst reveals itself in different ways to believers. But for me:

• Am I willing to rise earlier in the morning to spend time studying God¡s word? Maybe more than the prescribed thirty minutes suggested by my current bible study.


• Am I willing to take time away from television and spend it in prayer? Will I sit quietly after I've presented my requests?


• Am I willing to obey what I find in God¡s word, hear from the Holy Spirit, and from my pastor? Even when it suggests giving up something I find comfortable?

Read Isaiah 55:1-6. If we are hungry and thirsty, we spend money to temporarily meet the need. God offers us free nourishment that feeds a hungry soul, eternally.



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