Matthew 5:6 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they shall be satisfied.
How deeply do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? Are we so filled with the things of the world that our need for God’s nourishment is no longer felt? Righteousness (dikaiosynēn) is an important word in the Bible and means to have something in the right position before God’s law and will. God defines righteousness. His kingdom is a righteous kingdom because Jesus is its king.
The righteousness in this verse is not the righteousness we can demonstrate by our own efforts but comes as a gift of God’s grace. The words hunger and thirst express a deep desire and a need. We long to see God’s righteousness experienced on earth, in our lives, and society. We seek God’s gift and quality of righteousness as if we are starving to death. Nothing else will provide the spiritual nourishment that we need. We seek righteousness because we seek God’s kingdom (6:33).
Seeking righteousness begins with our attitude and relationship with God. When we seek God and are in fellowship with God, we begin to take on his quality of righteousness. We seek what God seeks. Our food becomes the word of God, just like Jesus (4:4). Our daily agenda becomes God’s agenda for us. We seek to live out his purpose and will for us, which is not always easy because we fight the temptation to set our own agenda, like Satan tempted Jesus.
Jesus does not say where we should seek righteousness, but there are two good places. One is to live like God means for us to live, with kingdom priorities. A second is by being his active agents in the world around us by longing for all things to be made right. We are no longer satisfied by the things of this world but have a different appetite. Those who follow Jesus get hungry and thirsty on the journey. We still live in this world and are plagued by sin and temptation. We long for a better home. Kingdom life is not about rejecting the world so much as it is seeking after God. The only way to find righteousness is to hunger and thirst for it.
Satisfied (chortasthēsontai) is used for the fattening of animals and being filled up and “stuffed.” Satisfaction is the feeling we have when things are in their right place. It is the feeling after eating a nice meal. We are full, content, and happy because our hunger has been satisfied. Even when we see the injustice and chaos around us, we can still have a sense of inner peace because we are living by kingdom ways. We have satisfied our longings with the peace of Christ which surpasses all understanding. This is not a empty feeling, like so many lost people have, but a real satisfaction. We put our hope in God and not in a disappointing world. We have a new craving for Jesus. If we do not hunger, we will not want Jesus.
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