January 24

Text: Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (NASB)

Two of the most powerful needs in human existence are the need to eat and the need to drink.  Most other physical desires are a distant second when the person becomes overwhelmed with needs for water or for food.  If a person becomes truly thirsty with no discernable hope for obtaining pure water or a safe liquid, the person will drink liquids he/she never drank before.  If the person becomes genuinely hungry, the person will eat things he/she never ate before.  If water or food is not available, physical life ends.  The complete absence of water or food terminates physical existence.

Jesus’ audience knew how powerful the needs for water and food were.  They would not establish a residence where neither was available.  Most of their lives were spent in seeking those two basic needs.  Many worked hard to supply those needs.  Especially in the time of war, people in the conflict zone lived in fear of being deprived of those basics.  Water or food easily could become impossible to obtain.

Even today the world's poor often resent people who spend so little on food and water.  The writer has known people who defined a good holiday as being an occasion when everyone in the family had all they wanted to eat and drink.  For no one to know hunger or thirst for 24 hours was a wonderful gift!

The need to know God’s teachings and principles are basic needs in the righteous person’s existence.  There cannot be life if there is no knowledge of God’s teachings and principles!  Existence in the physical sphere and the sphere beyond physical existence are impossible without such knowledge! 

The righteous person is as determined to acquire knowledge of God’s teachings and principles as he/she is determined to acquire food and water.  His/her life depends on it!

Suggestion for reflection: Consider your passion for having knowledge of God’s teachings and principles.  (Read Psalm 119:97-104.)