6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
If one is hungry and thirsty - pining for the Word of God – seeking for righteousness - they need only to open wide their mouths to be filled. God is so anxious to satiate our hunger for Him and sets forth no limitations of quantity when we seek. He always gives to complete satisfaction – never sending us away with a few meager shekels when we remain diligent to dig for pure gold. It is God alone who fills and satisfies a soul. Scripture tells us:
10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. Psalms 81:10 (NIV)
God speaks the following promise to us as well through the pen of the Prophet Jeremiah:
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jer 29:13 (NIV)
Paul also tells his beloved Timothy twice to pursue righteousness – conforming his life to the claims of a higher Authority – conditioning his life to a standard which was not his rather Gods. This should be a red flag for us as well. We do this by knowing and applying God’s Word to our lives. Head knowledge only puffs up making us spiritually prideful – application of Truth’s learned is essential for the Christian. God never intended for us to remain “as is”. Interestingly, we never stay stagnate - we are either going backwards or forwards. We must not lull ourselves into a false comfort of thinking we are A-OK exactly where we are in our walk with the Lord. That is the kiss of death spiritually speaking. We easily fall into sin but holiness and righteousness must be a pursuit. “Hunger” and “Thirst” are appetites that occur most frequently calling for fresh satisfaction. The souls stirred by the Lord Jesus calls for constant meals of righteousness as well:
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. 1 Tim 6:11-12 (NIV)
22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Tim 2:22 (NIV)
"Something happens when we come to God for His grace and mercy--something that is so radical and so amazing that it can only be described as death to our old selves. It is the overwhelming desire to please the One who has loved us with such amazing and unconditional love...I may not get better overnight; I may not be the fine, upstanding, and wonderful Christian I thought I was, but I now have a desire to please the One who loved me (and gave Himself for me). That desire is the soil in which goodness grows--not perfectly, by any means, but it does grow." Steve Brown
Next, Jesus tells us that the merciful are “Blessed”. Really, is there anything more beautifully winsome than seeing undeserved mercy fleshed out? God says His compassionate saints will be shown His active mercy. Mercy is the concrete expression of pity and compassion. It seeks to relieve affliction, alleviate suffering or distress and ease misery. When we are merciful - particularly to the undeserving (as we all are) – God shows us His active mercy. Paul tells us in Colossians to clothe ourselves with compassion - we are to demonstrate an active pity – bearing and forgiving one another in love:
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Col 3:12-14 (NIV)
“We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity the ignorant, and instruct them; the carless, and warn them; those who are in a state of sin, and snatch them as brands out of the burning. Indeed, a good man is merciful to his beast.” Matthew Henry
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 1:22-25 (NIV)