| By Esther C. Baird, as written for the Silver Bay Spiritual Life Center, Silver Bay, NY. To subscribe to the mailing please email: pastoralrespite@silverbay.org Over the years our two girls have been involved in a variety of ways at Silver Bay. They’ve been kids at Silver Camp, program members going to sailing and art classes, and most recently EMPSs working in housekeeping and food services. The what has changed, but not the where, and… not the constant and abiding need for a snack. Whether it’s at camp pick up or after late-night shifts at the store, the kids need food. They are always hungry. Always needing something to drink. Despite being totally sure that they ate at camp (even made their own ice cream) or were fed as part of their shift in the dining hall, the need is constant. As any parent knows, saying, “you just ate!” is utterly pointless. I think most of us can relate to this even in our own lives, which is why the fourth beatitude is so simple and yet so revealing. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.” We know what it means to be hungry or thirsty. But what does it mean to be hungry and thirsty for righteousness? Righteousness is a big and sometimes complicated word, but if we focus on the second part of this beatitude, it gives us a clue. Jesus says, if we seek this righteousness, we will be satisfied. There is a LOT out there that promises it will satisfy you, fancy cars, special diets, new fitness programs, educational degrees, the right job, the right retirement plan… has any of it really satisfied you? Sure a new car can give you peace of mind, or even some joy in driving it, but are you satisfied at a soul level? Has following a clean eating meal plan given you endless peace and a sense of purpose? Has your educational degree created a sense that the things that are broken in your life and heart will some day be restored? Being satisfied in the Kingdom of Heaven means a deep soul satisfaction. It means feeling totally content and filled up. It means overflowing with a joy and peace that is bigger than the daily circumstances of life. So then, flipping the beatitude back around, it is righteousness, or right living, that produces that sort of life. Righteousness means that our lives reflect both love for the King and love for people, and further, that our actions support and match that love. It means we are in good standing, or right standing, with the King. It means we are doing his work, for his kingdom. But there is a catch. Much as we may long for that sort of lifestyle, that sort of deep satisfaction, we also can’t live that way on our own. Remember the first beatitude when we learned we couldn’t rescue ourselves? We couldn’t enter into this kingdom Jesus described by just trying really, really hard? Same with righteousness. We can’t live the right way on our own. We can’t be in right standing with the King just by trying hard. But we can have it, just not the way we might expect. The Apostle Paul said this about righteousness in his letter to the Romans, “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him [righteousness] without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” (Romans 3:21-22) No matter who we are. No mater what we’ve done or said. The only requirement is that we put our faith in Jesus, the King of the Kingdom of Heaven. Or said another way, putting our desire for this life, our hunger and thirst for it, into his hands. If we’re honest, we know that mixed in our hearts with the longing for something better, is also the quick-trigger ability to be mean, to be judgmental, to be selfish, to choose the wrong action. We know we can’t do it on our own. But this King says he can satisfy, he can fill that longing, and he can make us right or whole in all the places we are wrong and broken. That is what this kingdom offers. Today if you are wanting more, if you are hungering and thirsting for this righteousness that produces true satisfaction, then follow the King and let him call you blessed. Extra Reading: If you want to read more, I’d encourage you to read Romans 3. Any translation will do, though I often find the New Living Translation to be an easy one to follow (you can use biblegateway.com to get quick free access to different translations). |
