Matthew 5:6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV)

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My bride went to the grocery store yesterday and brought home a treat for me. She knows how much I love blackberries. Blackberries are like Lay’s potato chips: I can never eat just one. 

If you place a pint-sized serving of blackberries in front of me, I will attempt to eat them slowly, say two at a time. Should you walk away and return a few moments later, you will likely discover how two multiplied by two quickly turned into zero blackberries left in the container. 

I really, really like blackberries. 

Seldom have I ever completely eaten my fill of blackberries. A large area of blackberry vines was located just across the county road where my sister and I awaited the school bus day by day. There were some mornings in May through the years when we spent our time second-breakfasting on blackberries while we waited. Those were the good ol’ days.

Winnie the Pooh loves filling himself with honey. Our grandson loves filling himself with pizza. Our granddaughter prefers strawberries. She enjoys tossing the tops out the window on the drive home from the farmers market. 

Jesus tells us in this beatitude we are blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. When we deeply desire God’s value system, we will be filled. When we love what and who God loves, he satisfies our souls with all of his goodness. 

Today is Pentecost Sunday. Some people will talk about the filling of the Holy Spirit as told in Acts 2 as if it were something special, additional to basic Christian faith. Take a look at what happens in the Book of Acts in chapter 2 and following. There is evidence of a hunger and thirst for righteousness. The Holy Spirit in our lives conforms us more to the will and ways of our Father in heaven. The Holy Spirit empowers us to see and to serve like Jesus. 

The Holy Spirit in our lives makes us hunger and thirst for more of God’s truth, wisdom, guidance, and peace. The Holy Spirit in our lives leads us to lead the kinds of lives where people notice we have been with Jesus. 

Here is good news: Hungering and thirsting for righteousness fills our lives with the kind of goodness that is attractive and loving, helpful and joyful. There really is not a single thing in the whole world we could desire that would fill our lives with more beauty and wonder. 

However and whenever you make time to know and experience God, arrive hungry and thirsty. He will fill your life with his goodness.

Our Father, I hunger and thirst for righteousness. I want your value system to be mine. I want my life to be shaped by your desires. Fill me with your righteousness so that I may overflow with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I want everyone I meet to know I have been with you. Amen.