Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

a prayer to open

Give me eyes to see, Lord—

to see your Kingdom, your heart, your love. Give me eyes to see.

When we think of righteousness, most of us conjure up self-righteousness. Or maybe we think of people who always want to demonstrate the rightness of their thinking. But righteousness is something else entirely. Righteousness is all things as they were meant to be, in right relationship with one another. We have never seen the world in this way God intended, except perhaps in a glimpse here and there. Yet within our hearts we seem to long to remember another way. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, we read that God has “set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (NIV). Though our bodies desire food and water, our hearts long for connection, and our minds seek knowledge and information, we have a deeper longing. And the more we follow Jesus—the closer we hold ourselves to his presence—the stronger this longing grows. We begin to ache for the forgiveness of all sin; the restoration of all that has withered and died; and the full and final reign of God’s love, peace, and justice on earth. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will not be left unsatisfied. They will be filled.

• Reflect on a time you caught a glimpse of things as they were meant to be. Perhaps it was an act of forgiveness, mercy, or compassion; a moment of purehearted joy; a time of unity within your family, community, or church; or an example of an injustice being made right. How did your soul respond in that moment?
• Imagine for a moment what righteousness would look like in your community. Begin with the relationships in your family, and then consider your neighbors and the schools, businesses, and restaurants in your town or city. What would forgiveness, restoration, and renewal look like in those places?
• Identify one thing you are longing for most in your life right now. What deeper desire underlies the longing?

Father, I long for things the way you created and intended them to be. I can see the brokenness in the world easily—it’s all around. Open my eyes to the places and spaces where your Kingdom is breaking through and things are as they should be. Hold me close to you so my desire for what is right and good and pure grows and drives what I do and how I am in this world. May my longings and desires always lead me to you, and may I find satisfaction in you alone. May your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.