Weekly Pastoral Message prepared by Rev. Murray Adamthwaite
for Sunday 1st November 1998

From the Pastor: Beatitudes and PC V

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6 In the 1850's this country rang with the cry of a single word: "Gold!". That one word and the discoveries which lay behind it transformed this hitherto obscure place from a chain-rattling and barren outpost, which everyone wanted to avoid, into a sparkling and attractive El Dorado in which everyone wanted to stake a claim. Immigrants came from all directions in search of the yellow metal, hoping for a quick fortune, and all united in one ambition: the hunger for gold and the "easy street" existence which would follow. In modern times the hunger and thirst after money is still alive and well, by various means. But for what!? Most will readily admit that money does not bring happiness, yet they still pursue it with all the zeal of a cheetah after an antelope. And "political correctness", obsessed with the supposed "right" to cultivate personal pleasure, sees no problem in such a pursuit: as long as it's an expression of freedom, that's OK. However, Jesus insists that happiness can only come from pursuing righteousness, and then not a man-made righteousness, but God's righteousness; not PC, but the standards of Heaven. Consider it: our society has an abundance of material benefits, but the misery rate is climbing astronomically, what with one-parent homes and the inevitable conflicts involved, young women suffering post-abortion stress and guilt, young men dying of AIDS because of their sexually deviant lifestyle, debt-ridden families on the poverty line because the lure of a fast buck from gambling has turned horribly sour. And who cares?? PC does not. All it can offer is our supposed rights. The consequences are none of its concern. Meanwhile, only the Lord Jesus Christ, who calls us to aim at righteousness, can promise genuine happiness as a result. That righteousness is to be found by faith in Him, and His guarantee is that all who yearn for it shall be filled. From His fulness they shall receive, grace upon grace (John 1:16).