Have you ever been hungry? I mean really hungry; to the point all you could think about was food? There are times Alisha will ask me if I am ready for lunch, dinner etc. There are times when she ask this, I am not really hungry, so I reply “I could eat”. This is actually something which I could do throughout the day. In this post I am not talking about “You could eat”, I am talking about being HUNGRY.
There is a saying which drives me crazy. Something which I never allowed Jason to say when he was young. The saying is, “I’m starving.” I did not allow this because I had been overseas and seen starving individuals and I knew while my family and I got hungry we were never starving. I do know there are individuals in the U.S. even in my town who are starving. But often times we; throw out this phrase when we are merely hungry or at a point where we could eat.
But I want you to think about being HUNGRY, being at the point of starvation. Sunday we continued our series on the Beatitudes. If you have not figured it out yet we looked at Matthew 5:6 “God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied” (NLT).
Before we go much further, let us talk about justice. We often see justice as individual, as a form of retribution and eye for an eye. If someone hurts me, I get to hurt them back. But what if justice is more about “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 NLT). What if justice is more about restoration than retribution?
As we come closer to Easter, I am reminded of the two individuals who were nailed on either side of Jesus. If you are familiar with the story; you’ll remember one of the individuals is hurling insults at Jesus and even possibly cursing God. The other individual however rebukes this individual. He then says he and the other gentleman are guilty and deserving of death but Jesus is innocent and undeserving of what they are all going through. As the story continues to unfold this individual ask for Jesus to remember him, Jesus responds to this man, he will be with him in paradise. He was restored.
Let me shift gears for a second and ask you what happened on Christmas 1952, 1992, 2002? Or maybe it was another family setting. Pastor I can’t remember yesterday how can I remember that far back. What I am talking about is, there was some type of family disagreement and you have not talked to that individual since then. You have cut them off you got yours.
But what if you were to work for their restoration. For your restoration. Wouldn’t that be justice? What if you walked among the addict and helped them get sober and stay sober. What if you were to show them the love of Christ and they accepted him as their savior. Surrendering their hurt to Him. Wouldn’t that be working for justice for them? Finally with all of the school shootings, instead of debating about gun rights on Facebook. What if you worked with the local school to keep our kids safe? What if you bathed this in prayer? What if you worked for legislation to fix the problem? Wouldn’t that be justice?
Are you hungry and thirsty for justice? Will you work for justice for all? Will you allow God to work His will in you so, His will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Will you allow Him and Him alone to satisfy you? Food for thought Pastor Travis out.
