This beatitude corrects two mistakes we make when it comes to salvation. The first: that it's all about believing. The second: that it's all about behaving. Actually, it's about both. My first reaction when I received Christ was to think I had to do something in my own strength to behave differently. The believing part I had down since I knew the change that Christ had done in my heart. But the (how to) part, on how to live this life of faith, that was a different story. Let's look at what the new birth brings: (1) A position of righteousness. If you stacked up all your good works until they were as big as a mountain, you'd still come up short of the payment required to get into Heaven. That's true before you become a Christian, and it's true after you become one. If you saw the movie The Passion of the Christ and thought, 'Why did He have to die such a death?' here's the answer: 'God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.' (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV) The moment you accept Jesus as your Savior you become 'righteous' in God's eyes. Awesome! (2) A condition of righteousness. '...Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God...' (Romans 6:11 NIV) Salvation is not just a position of righteousness you hold before God, but a condition of righteousness you live out before others every day. How do you do that? By valuing God's will more than your own (Proverbs 3:5). By seeking to display the character qualities of Christ as described in Scripture: '...Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...' (Galatians 5:22-23 NAS) You say, 'That's a tall order!' Yes, but we are not left to do it alone: '...As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.' (2 Corinthians 3:18 TLB) So choose today to be blessed as you "Hunger and thirst after righteousness." You are loved!
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