"A New Way to be Human"
"God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. (Matthew 5:3 NLT)
When you think about the person God blesses, what comes to mind? What attributes do they possess? How do they live their lives? Does it align with Jesus' description here in Matthew 5?
Jesus begins the sermon on the mount with the beatitudes. A series of phrases about the people God blesses. Here are the attributes he mentions that he blesses: the poor in spirit, mourners, the humble, those that hunger & thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure, the peaceful, & the persecuted. I would say most of these people are scorned by God, not blessed! Poor? Persecuted? How can that be the blessed life?
I have wrestled with the beatitudes all my life. I struggle still to see what they mean for us. It just doesn't compute with my idea of a blessed life. But I've realized that it's up to me to change & not Jesus. I need to be conformed to him & not he to me.
What stands out most in this sermon is that Jesus is doing something new, something different. He is laying out a new way to be human. He says a lot in this passage, "You have heard it said, but I say to you." He is taking an Old Testament teaching & giving it new & fresh application.
I think this sermon is here to drive us to Jesus. The last phrase is, "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." We can't be perfect. All of us are law breakers. All of us have fallen short of the attitudes we need to be blessed by God. All of us have failed to be salt & light. All of us are sinners & in need of a Savior to make us right with God.
Jesus is calling us to be a new kind of humanity & only he can make it happen.
What are your thoughts on the beatitudes? How have you understood them & the sermon on the mount?
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