Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
In these days of violence and moral chaos, many people hunger and thirst for righteousness. This thirst underlies all the demonstrations and social activism, the causes to end racism and hatred, the cancel culture, even the cause to exterminate certain ethnic groups. All these are woefully doomed to failure because they are misguided and fallacious because they do not bring people to faith in Christ Jesus who alone can establish true and everlasting peace on the earth.
We see Jesus’ words of blessing and peace throughout these beatitudes. The hunger and thirst He speaks about is not the physical hunger for food or the thirst for water, but a spiritual hunger that is characteristic of all people. This is what all people desire though they mask it is terms and ways which they think will satisfy their thirst.
The righteousness Jesus speaks of is not racial justice, equal rights, or economic uniformity. He speaks of justification, right standing before God. To have fellowship with God and enjoy the blessings of His kingdom we need to be right with Him. We come to God because we want this righteousness. We cannot achieve it on our own for it is given us by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.
Then the Kingdom of God works in the faithful to bring this same righteousness for all men. In our pursuit of it we may promote the cause of human justice, desire fair play and equal treatment for all, but these mean nothing in the absence of righteousness before God. Thus, in all our efforts, our underlying goal is to tell others of the true righteousness that comes from being one with Christ.