My daughter has studied quite a bit about nutrition. We know that our appetite determines our diet, our diet determines what we eat, and our intake determines our health. We know that too much of a good thing is not a good thing. We are aware that too much caffeine harms the body. Scientists tell us certain foods raise our cholesterol levels with can lead to heart disease and premature death.
We also know the opposite is true. Certain foods are good for us and lead to health and vitality.
Our appetite…or our hunger makes a big impact on our overall physical health. The same is true for our spiritual lives.
Jesus says something interesting in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:6 he says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
In this simple sentence, Jesus tells us that our hunger determines our spiritual health.
Have you ever known real hunger? Most of us have not. For us, hunger is waiting 10 minutes for those fresh baked chocolate chip cookies to come out of the oven. Very few of us have ever experienced starvation.
Because of our lack of hunger, it may be difficult for us to understand this particular beatitude. We rarely hunger and thirst after anything, so we miss the urgency of these words.
To be righteous is to be in "right standing" before God.
“I want to be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Philippians 3:9)
The Bible makes a clear distinction between self righteousness and God’s righteousness.
But the question Jesus asks in this beatitude is….”Do we possess a craving hunger and thirst for God’s righteous life?
And then Jesus gives us a promise? He says “They will be filled.”
If you and I want righteousness, we can have it. If you want a closer relationship with God, you can have it. Jesus provides the way. If you want to do God’s will, you can. If you want to grow spiritually, you can. You have to hunger for it.
One of the the things that gets in the way of our spiritual hunger for God is junk food. We can suffer from a kind of spiritual malnutrition. We snack on the things this world offers thinking they will satisfy, yet we are always left empty. Be alert to worldly substitutes that can never satisfy your spiritual hunger.
I’ve also noticed that appetite are often influenced by association. If you get some kids together and one of them says, “I’m hungry!” What do all the kids say? They’ll all say “I’m hungry too!”
If you hang around people who, all they care about is politics, that’s what you are going to care about. If you hang out with people who, all they interested in is sports, that’s what you’ll care about. If you hang out with people who obsessed with the stock market, then that’s what you’ll care about.
But if you hang out with people who are hungry to know God, people who spend time in His word, people who love the things of God, you’ll find that you care about those things too.
The French have a proverb, which states, “A good meal ought to begin with hunger.” It is hard to enjoy a meal when you are not yet hungry. But, when you are hungry, anything tastes good.
If we approach God with a hunger to be satisfied, we will be satisfied every time.
Today’s Challenge: Check your appetite. Are you hungry for more of God in your life? Are you thirsty for God’s righteousness? If so, keep pursuing him. He has promised that you will be filled.
