Last Sunday, Markus preached a sermon called “Babies and Righteousness.” He admitted early on that what with a new baby and two hospitals to drive between, he didn't think much about hungering or thirsting for righteousness during the week. Quite understandable! But even with that, he made some good points I thought I’d chew on a bit.
First, Jesus doesn't say, “Blessed are the righteous.” What he says is, “Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for it.”
Does this mean that righteousness isn't the goal as much is the yearning for it? Picture me thinking back to my teenage years, when I was trying to be righteous. (Oh, I must have been a real treat to be around.)
Back to the question, are we supposed to be righteous or to long for it. Both/and. We’re supposed to work on living righteously, but realistically, it’s an uphill struggle. And, it gets trickier when we notice that as we practice, we tend to put the bar higher for ourselves. Maybe Jesus knows this, and, knows we get discouraged. So, he says, crave it. Want it so bad you can taste it. (He probably also knows that when we want something that bad, we’re generally going to try to make it – whatever it is – happen.)
Another thing, when you hunger for something – maybe frozen custard, yum! Let’s say you get some. It’s smooth and creamy and wonderful. And for a while you don’t need it again. But there comes a time when you hunger for more frozen custard.
That’s the way it is with hunger and thirst, whether for custard… or following God’s way. If we really hunger and thirst, we’re going to keep coming back, keep working at it, and keep growing the way God wants us to grow.
One last thing: What IS Righteousness? In recent years, I've been describing it as living one’s life God’s way… Doing and being the way God wants us to… Looking to God for the answers… And listening for the still, small voice that helps us to make sense of things just a little better than we could all on our own.
There're my thoughts. What are yours?
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