by Precarious Yates
Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
One look at the world around us can give us a yearning for things to be right, because things feel so wrong. War. Hunger. Shortages. Sickness. Conflicts build upon each other with no resolution, just layers of shattered brokenness upon layers of shattered brokenness for the next generation to cut their feet on as they forge their way in life. In a reality such as this, how can we but hunger and thirst for righteousness?
Yet we in ourselves are absolutely helpless to bring that righteousness. We couldn’t if we tried for a thousand years. Ten thousand.
Romans 3:10 tells us, “as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one…”
What’s left for us to do? Are we meant to hunger for something that we can never have?
Herein lies the beauty of the gospel—we absolutely can have that hunger and thirst for righteousness fully satisfied!
Paul goes on in that Romans passage to say,
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” ~ Romans 3:21-26 (ESV)
Let that sink in.
What we hunger for is fully available to us because of what Jesus did for us. O taste and see that the Lord is good! Be satisfied. And share that with others, because there are a whole lot of people out there who are starving and parched, awaiting the righteousness that can only come through faith in Christ.
May God richly bless you!
Precarious Yates
About the Author:
Sarah Jo Smith is a pastor in eastern Ohio, where she lives with her husband, two children, and numerous chickens and sheep. She is working establish a ministry and to plant a church. As an author, she writes for children and teens under the pen name Precarious Yates. Currently, Sarah Jo is pursuing a degree in Peace & Conflict Studies/Conflict Resolution at UNC Greensboro. In addition, she holds a first black belt rank in Taekwondo and is working toward her second degree black belt in Hapkido. Pastor Sarah Jo’s passions are to help people be vessels for God’s love and presence, to bring the ministry of reconciliation through the gospel of Jesus Christ where there have been divisions and dividing walls between people, and to fight against human trafficking wherever she lives (see books written under Precarious Yates for more
Susan Shellito
/ November 11, 2022Thank you Sarah! And one of my favorite pictures of you!