Still Hungry

I decided to stick with yesterday’s beatitude for one more day…I did mention that it was my favorite one!

An Old Testament passage that “agrees” with Matthew 5:6 from yesterday is Isaiah 55:1-2.  Here it is:  “Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.  2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.”

It is pretty clear that the prophet Isaiah is not talking about ordinary food.  Isaiah is talking about hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  But Isaiah’s question makes me squirm a little bit.  How often am I spending money for what is not bread and wages for what does not satisfy?  Too often, I think.  Yet God offers “for free” everything that I need to be completely filled.  I’d like you to take a few minutes and think about what is really important in your life.  What do you really “hunger and thirst for”?  Are you hungry for power or fame or success?  Is it the approval of others or even just simply the accumulation of things?

What does your soul delight in?  If it is the things of God then you will be satisfied.  If it anything else…you’ll be really hungry and thirsty.