FULLNESS OF SATISFACTION
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matt. 5:6, R.S.V.
Have you ever eaten without satisfaction? Eaten until you are stuffed but without contentment? Why doesn't the feeling of fullness suffice? The answer has to do with the way in which we were made in God's image.
We were not created to be mindless. We have been given the equipment, as it were, for very fine tuning. Our potential is staggering! Yet we so often settle for so little. We who were destined to share the throne of the Infinite keep ourselves scarcely above the beasts.
We have to go deliberately against this high calling in order to slide down into the dregs of humanity. Though we are born into the world out of harmony with divine principles, God has placed within us the nagging desire for something better. We plant flowers beside our houses, but not because they help hold up the foundations. We like matching silverware and clean sheets. And we aren't really satisfied with bland, unappetizing food, no matter how nutritious it might be. Scientifically, we now know that food digested without relish is not utilized by the body to the same extent as food consumed with pleasure.
Our wise God knows that we will never be happy with a religion that delivers only the basics--legal standing in the heavenly courts--without the attendant fullness of restored friendship of heavenly beings. It would be like obtaining a marriage contract in order to become a citizen of a country without then entering into the marriage relationship. It might get you in, but in the ensuing days and years how much enjoyment would you have in living with a stranger?
With awakened minds, we may turn our faces toward heaven with eager anticipation. To hunger and thirst after God and that relationship we may have with Him is to be filled with joyous anticipation. It textures our lives with forbearance and sympathy, and stimulates us to new heights in soul winning. After all, we weren't made to keep good things to ourselves, either.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matt. 5:6, R.S.V.
Have you ever eaten without satisfaction? Eaten until you are stuffed but without contentment? Why doesn't the feeling of fullness suffice? The answer has to do with the way in which we were made in God's image.
We were not created to be mindless. We have been given the equipment, as it were, for very fine tuning. Our potential is staggering! Yet we so often settle for so little. We who were destined to share the throne of the Infinite keep ourselves scarcely above the beasts.
We have to go deliberately against this high calling in order to slide down into the dregs of humanity. Though we are born into the world out of harmony with divine principles, God has placed within us the nagging desire for something better. We plant flowers beside our houses, but not because they help hold up the foundations. We like matching silverware and clean sheets. And we aren't really satisfied with bland, unappetizing food, no matter how nutritious it might be. Scientifically, we now know that food digested without relish is not utilized by the body to the same extent as food consumed with pleasure.
Our wise God knows that we will never be happy with a religion that delivers only the basics--legal standing in the heavenly courts--without the attendant fullness of restored friendship of heavenly beings. It would be like obtaining a marriage contract in order to become a citizen of a country without then entering into the marriage relationship. It might get you in, but in the ensuing days and years how much enjoyment would you have in living with a stranger?
With awakened minds, we may turn our faces toward heaven with eager anticipation. To hunger and thirst after God and that relationship we may have with Him is to be filled with joyous anticipation. It textures our lives with forbearance and sympathy, and stimulates us to new heights in soul winning. After all, we weren't made to keep good things to ourselves, either.
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