A friend told me recently that the word “righteous” has lost much of its meaning in our day. I’ve thought that it meant, “living according to God’s law,” or “living in a godly way.” This, according to my friend, is just a shadow of the full meaning of the word.
In ancient days when a building was constructed it was declared “righteous” if it was built according to plan. Carrying that meaning to today enriches the meaning of this word for me. The Bible tells us that no one is “righteous” but God alone, and that we are “made righteous” by the blood of Jesus.
If I were to paraphrase this definition I’d put it like this. You were made for more, and you can only be who you were made to be if you submit yourself to the master builder, Jesus.
Righteousness has little to do with obeying the law, and everything to do with submitting to Jesus. As each day passes, I am compelled to follow Jesus and submit to Him. My tendency is to constantly take back control, and build my life as I see fit, but I know that unless He is the builder I will never be rightly built.
