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 "Righteousness"
of God (ROM.1:17) is "the quality of one pronounced
"righteous" by the eternal judge according to His norm
of right" (Lenski). It describes the state of a man in an
acceptable relationship to God; a state made possible by
forgiveness, hence dependent upon Jesus Christ. It embraces,
then, all that God requires a man to be, and makes possible for
him to be, through Christ.
And
Jesus says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteous -ness: for they shall be filled" (MAT.5:6).
Hunger and thirst are used here to express longing desire. Jesus
reverts to the fundamental driving forces in man to describe the
urgency, the impelling nature of this craving to be as God wants
us to be. Further, the grammarians tell us that these words are
"durative present tenses" signifying that the
hungering and thirsting continues. Continual longing for an
acceptable standing before God — even as we are being
"filled" — is required of all who would have the
Lord's blessing.
Reread
the first column, and give it some careful meditation. If you
have an ounce of
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perception, this should make you shake in
your boots.
Are
we hungering and thirsting for righteousness?. There is no need
to ask the "oncer", the socialite or sportsman who
serve God when it is convenient, the traditionalist who is a
"Church of Christer" because "all my people were
'Church of Christ'". Don't bother the sleeper; his answer
is as loud as his snoring. But the question reaches out to
another class of professed Christians.
Many
who give freely of their time and energy "hunger and
thirst" for a better nursery school, or greater
humanitarian services, or a "church image" of which
they can be proud. Some give great sums of money,
"hungering and thirsting" for a beautiful
"sanctuary". Reread, and carefully check the meaning
of "righteousness"!!
The
digression that prevails among "us" today did not
develop among people hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
It answers "our" question!!
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