Jesus values righteousness. He said,
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6
I assume righteousness means living by a code, but Jesus also said,
…unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees … you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20
Jesus points beyond analysing and complying with words to himself, a person.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
Matthew 5:17
If Jesus fulfils the law then he is the righteousness we hunger and thirst for! He affirmed this by saying,
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6v35
My hunger and thirst must be directed at Jesus, the one who fills, then I am led into the righteousness he intends. Jesus modelled this,
“… the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
John 5:19
So, the one who lives through Jesus and follows his lead is the one who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness and is blessed by the Father.
Photo by Viktória Farkas