Matthew 5:6 AMPC
[6] Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!
As always, the audience will always define the expectations. You would not demand holiness and righteousness from people who do not have the Spirit of God in them. As we read yesterday, the fruit of your life will always reflect your control centre. If God is in charge in there, He will produce fruit that line up with His presence. If God is absent, you will also know that He is absent, because your life will produce fruit in line with His absence. There is no fence of neutrality or indifference to sit on, because there is no middle ground here. At the time Jesus was speaking the world of the verse above, there had been a separation between the crowd and the disciples. Even though the crowd was there, all over the foot of the mountain, Jesus took His disciples up the mountain, sat them down, and began to teach them. The crowd could hear, but the demand was not for them.
This is where my identity has to be sorted out. We will all hear the message of Christ and His demands on us; but the right response can only be by those who have an understanding of who He is, or who have a relationship with Him. Jesus started his teaching by laying out the principles of His kingdom. What qualifies a man to get in? I note the emphasis on the inner contents of a man. Yes, some of these demands may manifest physically, such as being persecuted for righteousness' sake, but the foundations of the outward expressions are laid on my inner content. Men focus so much on the external, which is why man is quite easily deceived by outward show and pretence. God is not man; He sees into a man's soul, and can define the intentions and motives for whatever we do. It is critical that I know this, so I can have peace. The inner is important to God. Only in and by Him will my life be truly satisfied. God's time of favour is here.
One of the inner expressions is hunger after righteousness. It is a state where a man is never satisfied about what he knows of God, and is always eager to seek more of Him. I note that the version of the verse above lays it out by saying this is for a born-again child of God. Who else can hunger and thirst after God except a man who has seen Him at work and wants more of Him? Who else can hunger after God and never be satisfied, except the man who now has the spring of living water flowing in him, and who knows that only in God can that spring keep flowing? The presence of God in a man never goes stale, unless that man neglects the work of nurture and focus. Check out the interesting dimension to this verse: the man who hungers after God will be completely satisfied, yet the hunger never truly ends on this side of eternity. It is a continuous hunger, which God meets regularly, creating even more room for Him. May I never get to the point where I think I already have enough of God. God's time of favour is here.
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