Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:1-12
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Imagine you are a reporter wanting to get answers to a the following question for a human interest story you wish to write:
Who is blessed in life?
So you head out to the local mall and spend some time stopping people and asking them the question, writing down their responses so you could use them later to write your article.
What do you think the common answers would be?
Well after you finished and went home, you sat down to assess the answers and found three primary themes.
Most people attributed blessedness to financial status. A person who had achieved wealth and riches living in a large, extravagant home and driving an expensive, exotic car had been obviously been greatly favored.
Another large segment of those who were questioned believed success in life indicated the level of blessing a person enjoyed. A person who was able to go to college, earn a degree and then go onto attain a high paying position with a company could claim special providence over others. The same could be said for movie stars or musicians/singers who found their way to great fame.
And yet another significant number of people said that their health was the biggest indicator of being blessed. A person who had found their way through life without serious injury or chronic life threatening disease can see themselves as being on the receiving end of distinctive protection.
Wealth…success…fame…health. The world would almost always list them as indicators of being blessed in life.
Question: How do you define being blessed?
Only you can answer that question because everyone’s idea may be different. But whatever your answer is…hold onto it for a minute. Because as we set out to define who is blessed, we should be careful to not rely so much on what we think and defer instead to what God’s word says to provide us the answer. And as we look at His word, we will quickly find that the Lord’s definition of who is blessed is very different from ours.
So what does the Lord say?
For the answers, we turn to the passage for today as Jesus begins His first significant teaching…in what is commonly referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount”.
The opening of that sermon is a familiar one to those who read and study scripture regularly. It has been widely called “The Beatitudes”…the word beatitude meaning a state of utmost bliss.
So as Jesus mentions what brings the ultimate joy in life, note that these may not be in yours or any one else’s top 10. Here’s who He counts as blessed:
1. The poor in spirit.
2. Those who mourn.
3. The meek.
4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
5. The merciful.
6. The pure in heart.
7. The peacemakers.
8. Those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
Each of these is considered blessed with Jesus stating the following blessings they receive:
1. The poor in spirit…theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Those who mourn…will be comforted.
3. The meek…will inherit the earth.
4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…will be filled.
5. The merciful…will be shown mercy.
6. The pure in heart…will see God.
7. The peacemakers…will be called sons of God.
8. Those who are persecuted because of righteousness…theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
When the world looks at this, they would see it as being crazy and all backwards. How could those who have less actually be the ones who get more…the needy richer than those who have everything? It just doesn’t make sense.
And from a world view, it doesn’t. But from a Christian view…from one who looks at life through the lens of Jesus, it makes perfect sense.
For we gain our peace, hope and joy through our faith and trust in a Savior who is all we need in life to gain the best reward available…salvation. We see and understand through Jesus that the utmost bliss in life isn’t something materialistic that can be attained and accumulated. No…we live today in the spirit of Jesus, carrying out His will and Great Commission, knowing our reward…the kingdom of heaven…is waiting when this worldly life is over. And there, we will see our Savior face-to-face.
In the meantime, He is alive in Spirit and wishes to dwell in our hearts and minds, leading us in truth, righteousness and love.
Friends, indeed we are blessed beyond belief in life. But only when Jesus is the treasure we measure our blessedness by.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment