When you pray and ask for God’s blessing, are you asking for opportunities to be meek and to mourn? Are you asking for opportunities to be pure in heart and thirsting for righteousness? Are you asking to be persecuted? These elements make up the blessed life…
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 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 NIV
I don’t often start with the study notes, but I was sitting in chapel when I heard a sermon on the Beatitudes, and I had my physical Bible open in front of me. The Beatitudes, according to Spiros Zodhiates, must be taken as a whole. I like the sound of this portion of Jesus’ teaching being a composite of blessed discipleship.
The preacher shared that it is not a prescription but a description. This is what the blessed life looks like. It stands in contrast to our natures and what the school of hard knocks would tell us we should esteem and exhibit.
I recalled a dinner the night before in which I gave thanks for the meal, asking God to ‘bless’ our time together. I didn’t have these verses in mind. Was I asking for us to be poor in spirit? Was I asking for us to mourn? Was I asking for persecution?
I wasn’t, but if this is the definition of blessedness then I ought to be more careful with my words. If I am sincerely asking for this composite of character and behaviour, this is a weighty prayer to pray.
The consequence of bearing this image of discipleship, following after Jesus, is persecution and insult and even false accusation. Our example, Jesus, lived this life before us. Meek, gentle, and thirsty for righteousness, merciful and pure in heart, our peacemaking Lord mourned for his people and friends. He was persecuted before us and promises us we will inherit the same fate as we follow him.
Do we desire this blessing? We ought to if we desire to follow Jesus in every area of our lives…
Amen.
Marc Kinna
marckinna 