Craving
by Pat McIntosh
We are all familiar with the sensation. It was always one of your favorite foods. But, you have not had it in some time. Maybe it was a favorite dish that your mother used to prepare. You can remember what it tastes like and you can almost smell it now. You remember vividly how much you enjoyed it, especially if only on special occasions.
What I am describing is a “craving.” Once you reach the point of craving a food, little (if anything) will satisfy it until you have some of it. You might have well reached the point where you could think of little else. Maybe it was her pecan pie or fresh, homemade rolls with butter. Nothing else will suffice.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus used a concept very similar to that of craving to discuss one of the ways in which we can be truly blessed. We are to “hunger and thirst” for righteousness. These words do not suggest a slight hunger and thirst; rather, they describe a situation where one is near starvation. One needs to eat or drink now or suffer the consequences. This is not something that can be satisfied once, never to occur again.
As we make spiritual application, we realize that we are talking about our attitude toward the righteousness made possible through God, His Son and the Bible. We usually eat every day, several times per day. We know, from a purely physical perspective, that we need to have nourishment or we will get sick, even to the point of death if it goes too far. Spiritually, we need the nourishment that only God’s word can provide.
With what will those who hunger and thirst be filled? The answer is given: we will be filled with that which we so earnestly desire, a state of righteousness.
Sunday A.M. Sermon – The Beatitudes (5): Hungering and Thirsting
Introduction – Rom. 3:23; 6:23; Prov. 14:34
- Hungering and Thirsting – 2 Pet. 1:3; 1 Pet. 2:1-3; Matt. 7:13-14; Lk. 13:22-30; 12:16-21; Dan. 4:29-30; 2 Tim. 4:10
- What is Righteousness? – Matt. 23:5; Rom. 1:16-17
- They shall be filled – Heb. 5:12-14; 1 Pet. 2:2; Psa. 122:1
Sunday P.M. – Intro to James