Your Thirst
All of the self-propelled vehicles we own and dream of owning have one thing in common: the need for fuel. From steam to hydrogen, electricity to diesel, nuclear to some “run your car on water” contraption that your weird uncle talks to you about every Thanksgiving, to regular old unleaded 87 octane, cars don’t run without it. And from the moment the fuel source is disconnected from the fuel-filler neck and the car is started, it has begun consuming fuel, and it’s only a matter of time before it’s empty. Yes, even if you insist on topping off the tank.
Humans, too, require fuel. Our bodies metabolize food and water, and we become irritable – hangry – when our “tank” runs low. Yet while our modern world discards tons of food waste daily (while many people still starve), the procurement of food and water was the first and only occupation for people throughout history, until perhaps the Industrial Revolution.
This is why hunger and thirst were common themes in Jesus’ preaching. He uses them in the middle of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, which kick off his famous Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (v. 6) He echoes the scores of references to thirst found in Isaiah: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” (Isaiah 55:1-2)
This passage stings a little. Feeling thirsty for something that can’t fully satisfy is something we all do. We crave other things. Maybe we don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness because we fill ourselves with this stuff and become convinced that our tank is full.
Remember the times you tried to fill yourself with something that could never satisfy, and now, remember that Jesus wants you to not only be filled by his righteousness – he wants you to crave it. Now remember the simplicity of the Beatitude: The people who want righteousness, who know they need it because of the times they’ve tried filling their tanks with greed, vengeance, lust, or any kind of sin, will get it. Jesus satisfies our cravings, and he satisfies our cravings for craving. It’s natural to crave, and here, Jesus shows us how to do it.
Our thirst can never be satisfied by sin. But our thirst for sin can be satisfied by God. Feeling greedy? Thank God for all that He has given you. Are you vengeful or angry? Focus on passages in the Bible describing unity, compassion, and forgiveness. Is lust on your mind? Talk to someone about praying for you. If these are things we all struggle with, let’s struggle together.
Three things are certain:
1) We will always crave food and water
2) We will always crave filling our tanks with bad things, and
3) God’s grace will always be available to Christ-followers, no matter how often we try to fill ourselves with junk. Grace is the only thing that can fully satisfy us.
Like the people who are convinced that their car runs better on a full tank, we know that our lives are more stable and peaceful when we’re filled to the brim with God’s goodness. That’s a good thing to crave.
