8月21日
标 题：饥渴慕义
经 节：饥渴慕义的人有福了！因为他们必得饱足。（马太福音五章6节）
饥饿与口渴是身体通知我们已经“空”了的信号。对肉体的饥饿与口渴的自然反应，是寻觅食物和水，来满足我们的需求。每个基督徒内心都有个渴求，而这个渴求只有神的公义才能填满。然而，倘若被自我所充满，我们不可能被公义充满。在整本圣经中，神强调那些全心追求渴慕祂的人会查找祂（耶利米书廿九：13）。当我们热切渴望神的公义，我们会为自己的罪悔改，并且神会赦免我们的罪。我们的自私会被圣灵的果子，仁爱、喜乐、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信实、温柔、节制（加拉太书五：22～23）所替代。圣灵会使我们像基督。
我们不能小看公义的重要性，也不要以为公义是轻易可以达到。神不会把祂的公义赐给那些对公义无所谓的人。祂把公义赐给那些自知没有神的公义就活不下去的人。我们个人一定要竭尽全力追求公义，把公义视为作事的最高准则。追求公义意味着我们珍惜神的看法，高过人的意见。
公义不仅仅是不犯罪，它让神以祂自己的圣洁充满我们（罗马书六：11）。追求公义会让我们愈来愈有基督的形像。耶稣是我们先寻求神公义的榜样，尔后，天父尊荣祂。我们不只要寻求神的国度，也要追求祂的公义（马太福音六：33）。如果饥渴慕义，我们会被满足的！
Hunger and Thirst
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For
they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
Hunger and thirst are the body’s way of telling us that we are “empty.”
Our natural response to physical hunger and thirst is to seek food and water to
satisfy our need. Each Christian has an inner longing that only Christ’s
righteousness can satisfy. But we cannot be filled with righteousness if we are
filled with self.
Throughout the Scriptures God emphasizes that the one who longs for Him
with all his heart will find Him (Jer. 29:13). As we crave righteousness, we
will repent of our sin, and God will remove it from us. Our selfishness will be
replaced by the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23).
The Spirit will make us to be like Christ.
Righteousness is not to be taken lightly, nor is it easily attained.
Holy God does not give His righteousness to people indiscriminately. He gives
it to those who know they cannot live without it. Our desire for personal
righteousness must be powerful, all-consuming, dominating everything we do.
Pursuing righteousness means that we value the opinion of God far more than we
treasure the opinions of people.
Righteousness is not merely an absence of sin. It is allowing God to
fill us with His holiness (Rom. 6:11). It is being like Christ. Jesus is our
model of One who sought God’s righteousness first, and then the Father
glorified Him. We are not only to seek the kingdom of God, but we are also to
pursue His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). If we will hunger and thirst for
righteousness, we will be satisfied!
