Otis T. McMillan ~ What Defines You This Year?
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” – Matthew 5:6
The proper appetite is required to be filled: am I hungry enough?
With the disciples sitting at the feet of Jesus, he shared with them key points of his teachings. In this verse, Jesus declares that those that hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled. It brings to mind two questions. First, how large is my appetite? And second, what am I hungry for? Wholeness comes to those who have the proper diet and are not satisfied with just a portion of the meal.
What are you hungry for, what drives you? Your appetite will determine your behavior. If you are seeking to use God to obtain what you want in life apart from his will, you will be left empty. As you commit yourself to pleasing the Lord and give yourself to growth, the end will leave you full. “He that hungers and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.”
What a change occurred in Saul’s perspective after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus! Leaving on his journey, he was sure that what he believed was right. When Jesus’ voice pierced Saul’s heart, his whole worldview turned upside-down. Everything Saul thought he knew had to be rethought: his understanding of truth, his worldview, his life mission. This encounter was just the beginning of his transformation from Saul the persecutor to Paul the apostle to the Gentiles. What difference has encountering Jesus made in how you live and lead?
Jesus called his disciples into a life of community. He did that with his first disciples, and he continues to do that today. Following Jesus as our leader is not merely an individual exercise. He calls us into his body, his family. He knows that we will need traveling companions—brothers, sisters, people to encourage us, people to challenge us, people to walk alongside us. Who are you walking alongside today? Who encourages you as you learn to lead like Jesus? Who are you strengthening by your presence?
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” — Hebrews 10:24-25
Prayer: Lord, open my mind to see the world from your perspective. Let the reality of your presence reshape my leadership and purpose in life. In your name I pray, amen.
Note: Featured image is an unidentified painting by Piet Mondrian, 1908.