“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” Jeremiah 23:5

Righteousness is integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, the correctness of thinking, feeling and acting, and justice. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Righteousness will satisfy us. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10). Righteousness gives us the kingdom of heaven. “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13). Righteousness is part of our final inheritance. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17). The kingdom of God is about righteousness. So, there are many good reasons for us to want righteousness.

John tells us that “if you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” (1 John 2:29). So, we know that God is righteous (Ezra 9:15, Psalm 19:9, Daniel 9:7), and everyone who practices righteousness is born of him. We don’t want righteousness to be born of him, but we are righteous if we are born of him. So, we should be righteous because he is righteous, and we should want to be like him.

But even when we think of it, don’t we want what is right for ourselves and others. Don’t we want those who are disadvantaged in society to be treated well? Does it not get us angry if we see someone like an old lady or child mistreated by someone else? So, shouldn’t we want righteousness in our world? Shouldn’t we want a God who is righteous?

We cannot do it on our own

We have seen the examples in the Bible that no one could follow the law and be righteous; all have failed. We on our own cannot be righteous; our very sinful nature prevents it.” As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Only God is righteous. So how do we become righteous?

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” Philippians 3:8-9

So, our righteousness comes from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only righteous one, and when we accept his gift of salvation, we become righteous through him. He gives us the ability to follow him and become more and more like him each day, doing what is righteous and good in his eyes.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11)

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? – Romans 6:16. So let us present ourselves to Jesus and accept his gift and be obedient to him, which shall lead us to righteousness and the kingdom of God.

All photos were taken by Kyle or Vani. These photos are from the many adventures we have been blessed to experience together. We are so grateful for every blessing from God. No filters were used nor were the photos edited except for an occasional crop. We hope you enjoy.