Seeking the Greatest Treasure

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matt. 5:6

Have you ever pined for something so much you thought you’d fade away if you didn’t get it? Can anyone say chocolate?? Several years ago, I ministered in Uganda on a short-term mission trip. It is a temperate land on the equator with a strong sun and drier air than I’m accustomed to. I remember being very thirsty. I was ever so thankful that we had plenty of tepid bottled water to drink, but tepid water is no quencher of deep thirst.

I thirsted—oh, how I thirsted—but was never satisfied. The first thing I asked for when I landed on North American soil was a drink of iced-cold water—please and thank you!

We’re journeying through the beatitudes found in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Each one of the beatitudes is a truth to encourage us to search our hearts and see if we are truly in the blessed way. So far, we’ve learned what true salvation looks like—seeing our sin, and mourning over it. We’ve also begun to see what walking with God looks like.

Today, Jesus’ words take us to the heart of our desires:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matt. 5:6

We’ve all been very hungry and thirsty before. Often, we fill our appetite with anything to silence the grumbling in our stomach. I’m guilty of skipping lunch and then find myself ravenous while I prepare supper. Soda crackers are an easy grab to fill the void, so I chomp a few dry squares to get me through. But really, who likes bare soda crackers? And they certainly won’t sustain me for very long.

There’s a promise in today’s verse: satisfaction. There is something so stable, steady about that word, don’t you think?

The whole world is searching for satisfaction, and never quite grasps it. At every turn, we encounter allurements designed to stir up dissatisfaction within us—ads, posts, movies, magazines, shows, etc. Each one promises happiness if we would just buy this, do that, or go there (fill in the blank).

Aren’t we so easily fascinated and captivated? We have all followed the trail of the next thing that promises to fulfill our longings. Living in an Insta-click-next-day-delivery world only multiplies the problem. Since our coveting is insatiable, we can all relate to the quick let-down that drives us to move on to the next thing.

The hunger and thirst Jesus mentions in Matthew 5:6 extend beyond our physical needs to our deepest longings. Jesus isn’t talking about our stomach, but about our soul. God has put eternity in our hearts, and our hearts long for him (Ecc. 3:11). Because we are created as eternal beings in the image of God, the world’s temporal trinkets will not satisfy the infinite void left in our hearts by the Fall. Augustine aptly wrote in his Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Jesus is telling us how the vacuum within us will be filled: by desiring, longing for, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. We are called to seek God and his kingdom above everything else. Those who seek righteousness will be both happy (blessed) and satisfied.

What are our restless hearts pursuing? What is our deepest love? Christian, is Christ your greatest treasure? Who or what are we following after? Dear unbelieving reader, does your soul yearn for this true satisfaction? You can have it!

May we leave behind the tepid waters of this world and drink from the refreshing, living waters which Jesus freely offers.

When Jesus called his disciples, he didn’t just bless them, save them, and walk away; he commanded Follow Me. His disciples were expected to walk in the same path as their Lord, the path of righteousness. Are we doing the same?

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My grandson loves to play with tools. I should say, he loves to work with tools—real tools. Toy ones won’t do, and at not yet two years old, he is discerning enough to know the difference. He wants the real thing because that’s what his dad uses.

When his dad fixes the stove, the sink drain, or anything else, my grandson is by his side, imitating what he sees. With all his might, he bends over, carefully examines the problem, pulls tools out, and attempts to turn a wrench or drill a screw—just like Dad is doing. When his dad leaves to go outside, he goes too. He follows his dad everywhere, wants to do what he does, and be like him in every way.

When his dad built the front deck, my grandson was right there with him, handing him whatever he needed: measuring tape, level, drill, chisel, screwdriver, hammer, nails, and screws. My grandson knows the names of the tools and how they work better than I do. Why? Because Dad patiently teaches him, and he eagerly learns.

One day, unable to follow his father around because he was at work, my grandson found his dad’s steel-toe work boots, stepped into them, and with an ear-to-ear grin, shuffled into the kitchen to show Momma.

Happy are we when Jesus is ours, and we follow after him in the same way.

“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” (Psalm 17:15, NKJV)

Take Up and Read

Psalm 73:25

Matthew 5:1-12

Matthew 6:25-34

John 4:1-26

Isaiah 55:1-3a