HUNGRY FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

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

I have been thinking all week about the statement Jesus made to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth”. He was describing the character of His followers, those who have been born again. The born again Christian has a different nature than those who do not know the Lord. This nature is the nature of Christ that has entered into us and begun a new work. One of the characteristics of this nature is what today’s verse is all about, a hunger and thirst for righteousness. There are two sides to this, one is the hunger for God and the other is the hunger for that new life, the life of righteousness that the Lord begins to form into our lives. Here is how Jonathan Edwards describes both aspects of this hunger for righteousness.

“Do you hunger and thirst after a holy practice? Do you long to live a holy life, to be conformed to God, to have your conduct day by day better regulated, and more spiritual, more to God’s glory, and more such as becometh a Christian? Is this what you love and pray for, and long for, and live for? This is mentioned by Christ as belonging to the character of true Christians, that they “hunger and thirst after righteousness”. Does this trait belong to you? Do you make a business of endeavoring to live holily, and as God would have you, in all respects? Not only can you be said to endeavor after holiness, but do you make a business of endeavoring after it? Is it a matter that lies with weight upon your mind? A true and faithful Christian does not make holy living a mere incidental thing, but it is his great concern. As the business of the soldier is to fight, so the business of a Christian is to be like Christ, to be holy as he is holy. Christian practice is the great work that he is engaged in, just as the race was the great work of the racers. Is this so with you?”

This is a great litmus test for us all, has the desire of my soul been changed by God’s touch on my life? Has my desire to live a different kind of life, a godly life, become evident in me? Do I have a desire to read my Bible? Do I look forward to public worship? Are my friends Christlike and have a positive impact on my life? Do I have a desire to see my family and friends come to the Lord? These things describe the hunger Jesus was talking about, this marks you as the salt of the earth.