“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” Matthew 5:6
When I was in high school, I was part of a small church in Central Florida with less than a hundred people on any given week. My pastor decided to lead a class on theology with the handful of high school kids we had. We called it “The Dead Theologians Society.” At the end of the class, he gifted each of us a coffee mug featuring one of the theologians we’d studied who most closely connected with us. I still have mine. It’s got a sketch drawing of Martin Luther on it and a quote, “The Bible is a remarkable fountain. The more one draws and drinks of it, the more it stimulates thirst.”
More than a few times over the years, that quote has rattled around in my head and my heart, reminding me of the power and importance of feasting on God’s Word, regardless of how hungry I feel for it. In some seasons, the hunger seems to come easily. In other seasons, I’ve had to remind myself to eat– that the discipline of drawing and drinking and feasting on God’s Word and listening for Him is itself a way to get hungry again. To see our lives, our churches, and our city changed, we’re going to need to be hungry for the living and active Word of God.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
It’s a two-edged sword—a tool in the hand of a loving Father—that the Holy Spirit will use to refine us and mold us to be more like Jesus, to carry the Kingdom throughout our city. And we don’t just need a hunger to read it or hear it, but a hunger to listen to it and obey it. Because it’s not just words on a page, it’s the living and active words of a God who loves us, longs to speak to us, and wants us to live into the fullness of who he created us to be.
As you reflect, ask yourself: on a scale of 1-10, how hungry are you for God's word right now? What’s a passage or story in the Bible that gets you fired up that you can revisit when you need to renew your hunger for God’s word? How has God spoken to you through His word recently?
Pray with me: “Father, thank you for giving us your word and speaking to us through it. Give us a hunger and a thirst for your Word that can only be satisfied by you. Every time we read it, show us in a fresh way how it is alive and active. Let it show us more of who you are and the Kingdom you’ve invited us to build with you in our city. Amen.”
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