The word righteousness gets a bad rap. I think we confuse it with self-righteousness. Everybody knows what that means and nobody likes it…except for self-righteous people.
Righteousness can be defined simply as virtuous, but in the spiritual genre it has a deeper meaning: absolute faith in and commitment to God (according to the Holman Bible Dictionary.)
And that brings us to Matthew 5:6, Beatitude Number Four. Let's pray:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…
Your words, Lord Christ: Blessed are those who seek your presence…those who seek an abiding relationship.
I have wondered about your expectations for that relationship. What do you want? The answer seems to be every aspect of our lives.
You want us in traffic…in the tough spots…when we stumble into someone we don’t like...when we face hostility…when a confrontation looms…when we encounter temptation.
That’s where your Holy Spirit will temper, guide, heal and transform - if - if we will give you the entire package.
Max Lucado writes that we must let you into the “mire and muck of our world.” Only then can you pull us out.
Lord, we hunger and thirst for righteousness. Amen.
