Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6)
In college, I went through a time during my sophomore year where I made a decision to live as righteously as possible. I was committed to living a life that would be a witness to others on campus. I had recommitted my life to Christ is a new, more mature way. I became very pietistic and rigorous in my study of scripture and living.
What I found is that this wasn't me! Don't misunderstand. What wasn't me was not being true to my fun-loving, sometimes irreverent nature. What wasn't me was a judgmental streak that began to rear its head toward others. What wasn't me was the emphasis on being good enough for God instead of simply living into the beauty of God's love already.
Now, I remained rigorous in studying scripture. And prayer with my small group. And I remained committed to the Christian community on campus, worshiping regularly. However, I realized for my renewed faith to make any difference beyond me, it needed to be authentic and genuine. Pietistic, judgmental Dave was not authentic and genuine.
What I am thankful for is that I went through this period where I realized that I do hunger and thirst to live a life worthy of Jesus' love for me and this world. I have learned that do to so in the best possible way, I need to walk that line of honest self-reflection and of being who I am with gusto. Sometimes I may err on one side or the other, but ultimately I know that being who God created me to be and doing so with faithfulness, humility, and adventure, it makes for a pretty filling life of faith!
God, you fill our hunger and thirst for faith. Inspire us to do the same for others. Amen.
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