What's Your Appetite?

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

14 I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[d] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

What does it mean to "hunger and thirst for righteousness"? We had better understand what righteousness is. John Stott, a minister in the Church of England, gives a helpful definition, observing that righteousness in the Bible has three aspects: legal righteousness, social righteousness, and moral righteousness.

A citizen of the kingdom of God hungers for legal righteousness--that is, to be right with God through faith in Jesus Christ. A citizen of God's kingdom hungers for social righteousness, in which people together aim to do what is right for all, especially in showing care and compassion for hurting and disadvantaged people. A follower of Jesus also thirsts for moral righteousness, learning to live God's way and "to say 'No' to ungodliness" (Titus 2:12).

The people who first listened to Jesus were similar to us in many ways, with many of the same kinds of personal struggles and sorrows. Jesus has come to us all, saying that if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be filled, or satisfied. We all know that when hunger is not satisfied, we starve. And when thirst is not quenched, we die.

So we need to ask, How much do we want righteousness? Do we want it as much as a hungry or thirsty person wants food or water?

Forgive us, Father, for not having our priorities straight and for seeking fulfillment in ways that leave us empty. Thank you for giving us a thirst for righteousness. Amen.