Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:6, Psalm 17:1-15, Luke 18:1-8, Revelation 7:16-17

I have mastered my Chipotle order, and I’m getting hungry just typing it out for you. Prepare yourself for this glory.

Burrito bowl. White rice, but light, because balance is important here. Half pinto, half black beans, because nobody is forcing me to make that choice, so I’m not going to. Fajita veggies. Guac on the side. Cheese. Corn: extra. Lettuce: extra. Plus one bag of chips to be used exclusively as spoons, and possibly a few additional chips quietly borrowed from my daughter’s bag.

I don’t order like this by accident. I hit “reorder” from my Chipotle app with the confidence of someone who has been here before. The confidence of someone who may or may not have been awarded a “top 1%” of Chipotle eaters nationwide. I know exactly what satisfies me when it comes to a Chipotle burrito bowl.

So I thought of Chipotle this week when I read what Jesus said in Matthew 5:6. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Biblical righteousness isn’t just about becoming morally good or trying harder to do right. It’s about living with a will that lines up with God’s, because God is good. Psalm 17 shows David crying out from this place. We who are living and praying our own prayers, three thousand-ish years after David, can approach the Lord with similar confidence. And we can know that because of Jesus, God is already pleased with us. 

Christ’s righteousness has been credited to us (2Corinthians 5:21), which means obedience isn’t about showing off or trying to prove anything. We don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness so God will accept us. We hunger and thirst because we already are accepted. We want lives that please God because we are already loved by Him. And that love leads us to hunger for what God hungers for—righteousness. 

When we regularly remember this good news and how it changes our lives and our hopes and our future, we can know that His righteousness really will satisfy us. We want it because we already know how amazing it is. Like returning to my Chipotle app, of course we want to go back.

So, how beautiful that Jesus promises that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. And it’s not only a someday-filled promise. It’s also a right-now reality. Revelation reminds us that a day is coming when hunger will finally end, when justice will be complete, and when wholeness will be reality. But, until then, we can be satisfied with the presence of God in our lives, through His Spirit, through His people, and through His Word. In Christ, we get what He gives forever and right now.

Written by Scarlet Hiltibidal