The Joy of Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness

 

Christ is full of contraries that surpass all understanding. Contradicting statements tend to confuse the human intellect simply because of the law of non-contradiction. Two opposite realities cannot exist at the same time. This idea is merely a bylaw of human reasoning that demands that certain things should follow patterns we can logically deduce. An immortal and immeasurably incomprehensible Deity would only be expected to surpass this, which is perfectly manifested in the great contrary realities of Jesus Christ. Among them, Christ is both Lion of the Tribe of Judah and Lamb of God, He is both Servant and King, He is both Almighty Sovereign and Humble Savior. Matthew 5:6 highlights yet another great contrary reality of Christ.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

            Skimming this passage may not immediately confuse one about the nature of Christ, but we have to look at the grander revelation of what the Holy Spirit is saying about who He is and how He works in our lives as revealed in Scripture.

First, the Holy Spirit has been sent to convict us of sin.

“And when He (The Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement.”

John 16:8

            This conviction is the working of the Holy Spirit to starve us of all our worldly loves that stand in opposition to Himself. This working of the Holy Spirit is often painful, wounding, and humbling. Conviction is a heavy weight of condemnation brought about by a revelation of sin in our lives. Christ reveals Himself to our heart in a manner that creates a longing for the Perfect Righteousness we see in Christ. Hunger is the response of conviction. Thirsting is the response of conviction. We hunger and thirst to become Christ-like, to be free from the law of sin and death and live in perfected holy love. With this, Christ is the origin of our hunger, He is the Great Starver of our soul.

Second, the Holy Spirit has been sent to satisfy the ultimate desire of the human soul.

“For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

Psalms 107:9

            The human soul is not just hungering for natural food. Our soul is hardwired to desire things beyond our physical reality. Even with all our bodily needs met, there is still a part of us that cries out “I need more!” This longing is stirred most by conviction because we realize that we are spiritually malnourished. This cry from the depths of our soul is, as the Psalms say, is for infinite goodness. Only Christ can satisfy this desire. He invites all to draw from the well of Living Water and to partake of the Living Bread that does not perish nor leaves one unsatisfied. There is no hunger that He gives us that He Himself will not fill. He does not display the wonder of His righteousness without giving it to His servants through His Cross.

            He is both the Starver and Provider of our souls. A mystery that manifests in pain and comfort alike. Christ invites the believer who hungers after righteousness to be joyful. This experience of conviction and fulfillment will result in the joy of the Lord. He will not leave us more destitute than when we came to Him but will share abundantly His grace with those who love the Lord. 

 

*This blog post was written by Tucker McDonald, the teaching assistant at the South Wesley Foundation

Recognizing God's Presence

 Today, we live in a world where people thrive on being busy. We fill up our days with meetings, miscellaneous tasks and errands, or simply anything that will occupy our time. Whether or not these things are productive or actually accomplish anything is oftentimes an afterthought (if we even think about it at all.) In doing so, we tend to overlook the little things in life. There are so many moments that pass by, so many people that go unnoticed, and so many opportunities that we miss. If we would slow down, be intentional with our actions, and actually take time to notice everything that is going on around us, we might see that God shows himself through these little things.

            I don’t know about you but for me, sometimes when I think of God I think in too much of a big picture. What I mean by that is I notice, think about, and talk to God in the important moments but do not recognize his presence throughout the course of daily life; we turn to God for praise when things are going great, and we turn to God for hope when things are going poorly. In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis discusses the notion that too much agony might even be disliked by Satan and his followers, stating that in such times of uncertainty and chaos more people will turn to God. In moments that are larger than life, we search for answers, and God is an answer to which we typically come. But his presence can be easily forgotten when things are status quo. But the reality is, while God is indeed larger than life, those are not the only moments in which God exists. He is not simply a solution to our problems, or the answer to our pressing questions, He is the whole reason we live our lives in the first place.

Our relationship with God changes throughout our lives, but that is because of who we are, not because God himself changes. While it may seem like He changes, God is actually the one true constant in our lives.  We are the ones who must allow ourselves to recognize and appreciate his faithfulness in every aspect of our lives; we must strive to create a stronger and more intentional relationship. The reason our relationship with God has these ups and downs and twists and turns is oftentimes because we are so caught up in our busy lives that we don’t recognize when He is there in the small moments. Once we have accepted Christ into our lives and have chosen to follow him it is quite literally impossible for us to exist without his presence.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

I would like to leave us all with a challenge. The challenge is this: In the midst of the unpredictable times in which we are currently living, let’s all take time this week to stop what we’re doing and appreciate the moment that God has given us. Let’s take a few moments this week, back away from the busyness we have created for ourselves, and cherish the little things through which God shows his everlasting love.  

*This blog was written by Blake Batchelor, who is a junior at the University of South Alabama and is currently the worship leader for the Wesley Foundation.

The Joy of Meekness

            Have you ever had the opportunity to boast about something you accomplished, but you remained silent? I heard of a man one day who was going through some old things in his attic that belonged to his grandfather. He had known his grandfather had served in the second world war, but beyond that, he did not know much else. After his grandfather passed away, he was looking through several of his personal items leftover from his time in the war. He ended up finding a small case full of distinguished service medals for bravery. His grandfather had earned several medals for bravery in combat though never told anyone. The grandmother of the man told him that the medals never meant much to her husband because he thought he was just doing his job and that other people had given far more than him.

            This example of humility bears many similarities to our Christian walk. Our Lord said this about meekness in His Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Matthew 5:5

            Meekness is defined as being humbly patient or obediently submissive. Oftentimes meekness looks a lot like weakness in a world consumed with power, advantage, and self-preservation. Our natural tendencies do not desire to be looked upon as being unable or dependent upon someone else. We are hardwired to be headstrong and act in the most efficient, effective, and least time-consuming manner so we can succeed. Biblical meekness is not about weakness or inability. Many people are highly gifted and skilled in many areas where they can boast in themselves and their efforts. In this passage, the Lord is calling us to recognize the gifts and abilities that He gave to us and then humbly steward them without boasting and using them for selfish ambition.

            Meekness is the response of our hearts when we encounter the Lord in our lives. This is most evident in the life of Moses. Here is a brief detail about Moses that the Scriptures gives us.

“Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” 

Numbers 12:3

            Moses was able to interact with the Lord firsthand throughout his life. First at the burning bush, next in the great exodus, and then on Mt. Sinai where the Lord engraved His commandments on stone tablets in the presence of Moses. Moses came down from that mountain having been the only man on the face of the earth to have a revelation of God so intimate. The result of this encounter was meekness. When the Lord works in our lives in powerful and merciful ways through His grace, our response is the ability to humble ourselves and realize that we are nothing before Him, even though we might have great talents, abilities, or experiences.

            Like Moses, we can access and experience the grace of God through Christ in our lives firsthand. All of our giftings, talents, strengths, and passions that the Lord gave us can be used to glorify the Giver of these gifts and not the possessor of the gifts. That is what meekness is: having the ability to glory in ourselves and attain praise but giving it to God instead. When we do this, we will find joy because it is greater to give praise than receive it.

            We should not forget the powerful promise that the Lord attaches to this meekness. The reward is inheriting the earth and sharing in the authority of Christ as an heir of His Dominion. This reward is infinitely more majestic than the actions of meekness. It also seems contradictory to our human nature. We often think the strong and the proud should reap the benefits of authority and conquest, but in Christ’s Kingdom, He shares it with the most humble and meek. Hopefully, we can keep these things in mind as we travel along this winding road towards Heaven called life to make sure that we do not glory in ourselves, but glory in what the Lord has done in us. 

 

*This blog was written by Tucker McDonald, who is the teaching assistant at the University of South Alabama Wesley Foundation.