Better Than Life

It was Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, that taught us the importance of learning and opening our lives more to the presence of God when he said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  Matthew 5:6

We do know when it's lunchtime or dinner time.  We are programmed to feel hunger then to satisfy that hunger through eating.  The same is true with the sense of thirst, which we meet with a drink of water.  Jesus is saying our spiritual desires toward righteousness are fulfilled when we actually hunger and thirst for righteousness. 

To actually see this happening, look to Psalm 63 (from ESV)

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
² So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
³ Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
⁴ So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.

⁵ My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
⁶ when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
⁷ for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
⁸ My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
¹⁰ they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

David knows what it is to sincerely be seeking God, when he says his soul thirsts, and his flesh faints for God.  He looks upon God and beholds his power and glory , and the result is endless praise from David's lips.  He now has a satisfied soul, one that clings to God.  He has experienced God's help and sings for joy.  We can agree.  When we seek and experience God like David, we will know God's love really is "better than life."

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