Matthew 5

Posted on Jan 6, 2017 in Bible (NT) in a Year |

Friday

Well, isn’t Jesus just filled with so many contradictions? – What?!? Did I just say that?

Well, not with Himself. But He contradicts what the rest of the world thinks or says. If you think someone is poor – how can they be rich? If you know someone is thirsty or hungry – how can they be filled? How can you rejoice when someone is persecuting you? Yet Jesus says all these things and so much more in what we know as the Beatitudes. I love these statements for they are the beginnings of hope for so many hurting, abused and down-trodden people. What you have here is a new way of looking at your values. And Kingdom values are always better than worldly values. The world wants to tell you there is no hope for those who mourn. Well, the truth is there is a lot of hope for those who are poor is spirit, the hope that there is a better world waiting for us. And if you remain humble (meek) God has so much in store for you. Remember, Jesus tells His disciples that the last will be first.

I love the beatitude that tells us you will be blessed if you hunger and thirst after righteousness. When I am hungry for food, I find it hard to concentrate on anything else, can you imagine having that same desire to satisfy the need for righteousness? Would a person dying of thirst do everything in their power to find water? Why don’t we do the same thing towards learning about righteousness and living a holy life, that is pleasing to God. (Romans 12:1)

I have also seen the beatitudes translated as “happy” are those… but blessed is so much more than just being in a state of happiness – or laughter or pleasure or prosperity. To me, blessed is an attitude of peace and of confidence, a way to experience joy and contentment despite the ugliness and/or evil that might surround me in this world. A way to center myself on Christ and to know that this world is only temporary and the world that I will go to is so much more, is so much better than what I could ever experience here.

So I hope that not only is your day blessed but that you live a blessed life.

Pastor Kathy