“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
I used to think righteousness meant being without sin, or pure and holy like God. That would definitely be a good thing to pursue. But I could never seem to be “holy” enough no matter how much I pursued it.
Through studying I learned that being righteous has to do with being in relationship with Christ. It was not about being perfect. Christ’s righteousness was not based upon his sinlessness – even though that helped him achieve righteousness for us. It is based upon the covenant.
The Israelites discovered they couldn’t keep the covenant on their own. Try as they might to keep it wholly, they would come up short. God had given the covenant to help them see their need of a new covenant of grace supplied by Christ. In the Bible times, when someone kept their covenant then they were considered a righteous man.
Christ is righteous because he kept the covenant for us so we could be reconciled in a relationship with God. That’s why our righteousness is as filthy rags – its never good enough. But “in Christ” we are the righteousness of God. We are the demonstration of Christ’s righteousness when we accept Him as Savior.
So how do we pursue righteousness? By pursuing a relationship with Christ. Not by doing good works, not by service, not by giving money. Those are all results of being in relationship with Christ. Pursue a growing, deepening relationship with Christ and you are pursuing righteousness.
How do I get hungry or thirsty for God? By tasting and seeing that He is good.
Taking the risk to believe and act on His Word, to experience Him in your life. Once you’ve tasted His sweetness, you want more and more and more. It’s something like Lay’s potato chips – you can’t eat just one.
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