Sunday, the message at church was studying the Beatitudes, the first 12 verses in Matthew chapter 5. Each family took a couple of the verses and discussed them as a family for a few minutes, then we came back together as a group and discussed the entire passage one verse at a time. As we were studying these, it occurred to me how they are a picture of the Christian Life.
vs 3 – Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
The beginning of the Christian life, and any true step of growth therein originates with being poor in spirit. Being poor in spirit is simply recognizing what God says, that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”. This means that the best we can do on our own simply doesn’t measure up to the standard God has set. Fortunately, God has made a way of escape for us through Jesus Christ sacrifice. But until we come to the point that we realize that we don’t meet God’s standard, we cannot begin or grow in the Christian life.
vs 4 – Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Once we see ourselves as we truly are before God and become poor in spirit, we will mourn for our sinfulness. When we see ourselves as God sees us, we understand the deep sorrow that our life has caused to both God and ourselves. It is in that state of mourning that we come to God, begging for His mercy and forgiveness. His answer is simple, “Be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” We are comforted through the sufferings of Christ, and His death restores us into fellowship with God, who provides the comfort.
vs 5 – Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
As we begin and continue to grow in our Christian walk, we begin to see opportunities to display a Christ-like attitude. We should strive to be like Christ, “Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, he threatened not”. Our human, sinful nature produces natural responses in us. When someone speaks against us, we, naturally, want to lash out against them. When someone intentionally does us physical harm, we, in our sinfulness, desire to respond in kind. If you don’t believe this, simply watch two children at play. Before long one will do or say something to the other who will respond in kind until the situation escalates. This is our nature.
Meekness is that quality of having our reactions under control. Meekness is responding (correctly) not simply reacting. Not just our physical reactions, but our internal reactions as well. How difficult it is to overcome that natural response of “Why I oughta…” and respond as Christ, in meekness and under control. Christ showed the greatest restraint and control, not just during the hours before His crucifixion, but throughout His entire life. We grow more like Christ by “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”.
vs 6 – Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
As we both respond correctly and incorrectly to the situations around us, we see how far we really are from God’s standard. If we are truly saved, the we should have a desire in our hearts to be filled with the righteousness of God. We should want to grow closer to Him and be more like Christ. It is God who both gives us this desire and satisfies the desire (see Psalm 37). God will grant us the desire of our heart by showing us the areas He wants to purify and bring under control.
As we see our failures, we again become poor in spirit and mourn over our sinfulness. We confess our sin and turn over that aspect of our life to God and allow Him to help control our responses. In turn he fills our “hunger and thirst” for being like Christ.
vs 7 – Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
When God works in our life to convict us of something that we need to control, we allow Him to work in us to control that area of our life. Often it is during the time of our conviction that we will notice the sin of others. Our response is to judge this sin and condemn others. We often forget that God is the one who works in the lives of others, and He moves at His time. We also forget that He was patient with us before we responded to Him in other areas. This is when we need to be merciful to others. Whether it is a direct offense to us personally, or simply an offense caused because someone is doing something we disagree with, we must learn to be merciful and avoid judgement.
This is not to say we avoind all conflict and confrontation. There were indeed times when Christ rebuked and reproved sin, and Paul commands the same of us in Timothy. However, the rebuke and reproof must be from Scripture, and it must be administered in love and mercy, remembering the attitude God had towards us in our sin.
vs 8 – Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
As the cycle of hungering after God, confessing our sin, and submitting to God continues, we grow. This process of converting our reactions purifies our heart. When our instinctive reaction matches what our proper response should be, we are acting correctly in that area. This does not mean we can rest or take a break, simply that the Christ-likeness we are desiring is being brought forth in our lives. We see God in ourselves and in those around us growing the same as we grow.
vs 9 – Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
As we grow, God wants us to help others also. Whether this help is in the form of leading others to a saving knowledge of Christ, or simply helping another with a difficult issue, we are making disciples. Having seen peace between ourselves and God grow in our own lives, we should reach out to others to help them make peace between themselves and God. Man, in his natural state, is the enemy of God, not because God wants it that way, but because man is sinful. Christ came to provide a way of peace between God and man. It is our responsibility to work toward that peace in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
This, of course, is not an open invitation to be meddlesome or arrogantly intrusive in the lives of others. Rather, it is an opportunity for us to watch for those divine appointments that God provides for us. God will bring into our lives those to whom He wants us to minister. We violate God’s will just as equally by overstepping God’s plan as we do by not ministering at all. As with all other areas of our life, we need to let our ministry be in meekness, under the control of God.
vs 10 – Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
As we do grow and reach out to help others grow, we will find those who are not pleased with our lifestyle. Whether these people are convicted by our attempts to live godly or are simply choosing to remain God’s enemy does not matter. There will be people who are angry at us for our beliefs, or who become angry with our attempts at ministry. In each case, we should be certain to evaluate our motives and actions to ensure we are allowing God to work through us and not moving out on our own. If we are acting in a manner submitted to God’s control, we can be certain that God is aware of our persecution. We can also be certain that God has our best interest at heart, and has the persecution in our life for a reason. With that confidence, we can truly minister to others and be blessed despite the persecution
