HE SAT ON A HILL
The first word Jesus spoke during the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) was “blessed.” I closed my eyes and thought about this moment. A large crowd of followers gathered around Jesus. He sat on a mountain side as His disciples gathered. I imagine Him sitting on higher ground provided by the mountain slope so all could see Him. I hear babies crying, people chattering in passing, maybe even a dog barking. But I imagine when Jesus spoke the word “blessed” that silence fell on the crowd.
The Latin word for blessed comes from “beatus” – it was a powerful word not spoken about humans because it carried a divine meaning of “joy and perfect happiness.” Blessed implies an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that does not depend on outward circumstances for happiness. (Warren W. Wiersbe). Yet Jesus offered this to His people as soon as He uttered the word blessed.
For God blesses those who are:
Poor in spirit
Mourning
Humble
Hunger and thirst for Justice
Merciful
Have pure hearts
Work for peace
Persecuted for doing right
What are these words that make up the list we receive God’s blessing for? Are they just good things to strive for? Do we pick and choose the “easy” ones to apply to our own lives? Are they character traits that the world expects us to live by? These “attitudes” are the code of ethics that Jesus expects His followers to live by. Each and every single one provides the standard for how we should live to receive a level of joy in our hearts that is not of this world.
“All praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 Because we have a relationship with Christ we get to experience a level of joy that was once thought could not apply to humans. I’m so grateful our true blessings aren’t tied to this world we live in.
Blessings don’t come from the earth; we are blessed through our relationship with God. We often say we are blessed because of things or situations, but blessings are spiritual; not physical. As we walk more in God’s ways we learn the true meaning of righteousness. We learn that “things” do not bring blessings. I’m not sure about you but I want to learn all I can about humility, mourning, being meek, hungry, merciful, pure in heart, being a peacemaker, and being persecuted. Because I know through God’s promises in Matthew 5 that I will see God and the kingdom of Heaven will be mine. Now that’s something to think about!
Love,
Heather & Lisa
