“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6).
In a few days, my grandmother will be 100 years old. Many in our family will be gathering at her bedside to celebrate this milestone with her—likely with cake, candles and gifts—although she will not know us and has not know us for years. Still, we desire to celebrate our grandmother’s witness, her love and devotion to her family. She was always a woman of God, one who desired the best for others and had a hunger and thirst for God’s leading.
There are so many things that we can fill our lives with today. We can fill up on food, drink, television and especially the Internet or our cell phones. We can spend so much time in these other pursuits that God and the things of God simply drown in our waves of self-absorption and consumption. We can have no capacity to see or hear God amid the confusing din and fast-moving images that sear our brains.
It was the same centuries ago. Jesus pointed out the need for us to have a hunger and thirst for God…and if we do, we will be filled.
Perhaps the biggest question of our age is: With what will we fill our lives? We can fill our hearts and minds with so much stuff that God simply gets squeezed out. Or we can reach with open hearts and open minds to receive what God would say and do. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is not a quick or easy transition—and never has been. Being open is the beginning. It is the hunger that counts…the thirst. God is the One who quenches.
