Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 KJV
The Context:
This account was early in the earthly ministry of Jesus. He had just been baptised, tempted of the devil in the wilderness, and had made choices of a few disciples to follow Him, who He could teach and then send out in His name to the world. This is the first sermon he preached to them, and it must be emphasized that even though there was a multitude waiting, He only spoke to His disciples. Yes, the crowd was there, and in fact, they were amazed at His teaching, but this sermon wasn't for the crowd. It was for those who has pledged allegiance to the Master. Am I one of the disciples, or do I need to sort out my allegiance first?
Herein lies the danger: you can spend all your life at the foot of the mountain, hearing all that God speaks but not deciding for Him. You can know all there is to know about Jesus, yet He does not own your heart or know you at all. You can be a part of the popular movement, the crowd of influencers, but from God's perspective, it is not enough. He is not looking for numbers, but for substance, depth and commitment. And as you read the story of Jesus, you realise just how true this is: He has never been impressed with the size of the crowd following Him, but He has always honored the faith of individuals who reached out, even through the crowd, to take advantage of what He had to offer. Remember the woman with the issue of blood? Remember the Syro-Phoencian woman, even with the insults? If you can relate to these new testament stories, what of the widow of Zarephath, or Naaman the Syrian? Do you see the pattern? It has never been about privilege or entitlement, but about reaching out in faith, no matter what kind of hand you have been dealt in the past. Do I belong to the crowd or to the disciples?
The Message:
Today's extract speaks to the people called disciples. A disciple, no matter how learned, never stops being one. It is a school of learning that one never graduates from, until physical death or rapture. It is a state of daily dependence, absolute trust in and complete confidence in the One I follow. If I do not believe in His leadership, I will not follow. If I follow, I had better be sincere in my devotion. God recognises sincerity and hypocrisy, because He made the human heart. And this is the seed of the hunger and thirst after righteousness that today's extract emphasizes. Do I feel full? Am I filled with a sense of my own importance, or am I empty of all that is me so that all of God may fill me up?
It has to be total hunger; the kind that consumes me totally, leaving no room for any other pursuit. The hunger and thirst must have laser-focus intensity, set like a flint; otherwise, the devil will present other 'viable' options and distract. It has to be the right kind of hunger and thirst, pursuing after the right things, which are the things that promote God's righteousness; otherwise, the devil will distract with other equally important but not eternal things. Martha was concerned with food, which was a valid focus for a visitor, but at the time, the better option was to sit at the foot of the Master and listen to Him speak. There will always be opportunities to eat but not always to hear God speak, except you make out time.
We focus on the need for a sermon, and not the Message behind the sermon. We spend more time preparing the words and not praying for the lives to be touched by the words. We seek popularity and vain glory through words that don't even belong to us in the first place. It is time to go back to the basics: seek out that which has eternal value and pursue it without delay. Don't settle for anything less than what God promised: filling that the world cannot touch, defeat or change.
The Response:
What is expected from me: climb up the mountain and sit with the disciples. Man's applause or condemnation is not the basis of God's judgment; neither moves God one way or another. Nowhere does God promise a life free of challenges but He promises a life of purpose and fulfilment. The pain will be worth it. The discomfort will work out that which will glorify God. There is an assurance that if I come to God and take Him at His Word, I get all that He has promised. I see the word SHALL, and I know that this word is backed up by the greatest name and power in the world, which is Jesus.
By God's standard, what a man sows is what he reaps. If I want to reap the blessed fruit that fills up, I must sow righteousness and purity and commitment to God. The law of sowing and reaping has been with us since Adam and Eve, further established under Noah, and true ever since. What am I sowing at the moment? If God were to ask me to ear the fruit of my doings in secret, would I be able to eat it? If I don't like what I see now, or what it is shaping up to be like, it is not too late to change it. It is too late only for those who are The Late. As long as I have life, I can seek after God with all my heart, and when He is found, He can make my life a blessing. What are you waiting for? His time of favour is here.
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