Blessed are those who live through the cycle of the Christian life because great is their reward!
It's the beatitude that I see written through the list of beatitudes that Jesus shares in Matthew 5. Check out the last couple posts to catch up before reading on. Otherwise, this post may seem out in left field!
The entirety of the beatitudes is actually the cycle of the Christian life from broken sinfulness to salvation and from the life giving sharing of Jesus' name to persecution for sharing that name. We ended our last post learning that to be a Christian means to face persecution. Yet, some of us don't see persecution in our lives.
Just after the beatitudes, Jesus refers to a believer as "the light of the world". We are his light to be shone into the lives of those living without him. And doing so will bring persecution. If you don't see the persecution in your life consider these four possibilities...
1. You aren't really a believer.
2. You are a believer, but you are not allowing your light to be seen.
3. You are a believer, but your light is surrounded only by others with light and no one who is in darkness.
4. You are a believer, but you simply aren't recognizing the persecution. Look for it! And in Jesus words... be blessed!
Now some of you may be thinking I'm not always pure in spirit. I'm not always sharing the gospel. I'm not always showing mercy. I'm not always seeing my poverty of spirit. That's okay. Here's why...
It's the beatitude that I see written through the list of beatitudes that Jesus shares in Matthew 5. Check out the last couple posts to catch up before reading on. Otherwise, this post may seem out in left field!
The entirety of the beatitudes is actually the cycle of the Christian life from broken sinfulness to salvation and from the life giving sharing of Jesus' name to persecution for sharing that name. We ended our last post learning that to be a Christian means to face persecution. Yet, some of us don't see persecution in our lives.
Just after the beatitudes, Jesus refers to a believer as "the light of the world". We are his light to be shone into the lives of those living without him. And doing so will bring persecution. If you don't see the persecution in your life consider these four possibilities...
1. You aren't really a believer.
2. You are a believer, but you are not allowing your light to be seen.
3. You are a believer, but your light is surrounded only by others with light and no one who is in darkness.
4. You are a believer, but you simply aren't recognizing the persecution. Look for it! And in Jesus words... be blessed!
Now some of you may be thinking I'm not always pure in spirit. I'm not always sharing the gospel. I'm not always showing mercy. I'm not always seeing my poverty of spirit. That's okay. Here's why...
This chart condenses the eight beatitudes. The first and last beatitude are present tense. "Is". All the rest in the middle are future tense. "Will." Here is a fact we see in scripture... the kingdom of God is already here. Jesus said so. It is in believers (Luke 17:20-21). We don't usually think of God's kingdom being here already. But it is. Just not in "fullness" yet. One day it will be in fullness. Its the same with the middle beatitudes. Jesus frames ALL of the beatitudes in this present tense to say... "As a believer you will strive to mourn for your sin, be meek, live in purity, share my name, etc., but there are times you will fail. But the kingdom of heaven is still yours. Why? Because of me. You can't ever do it on your own. But in me you will obtain all these things. And one day, when the day of completion comes (Philippians 1:6) you will live these in fullness. In the meantime... the earth is already yours, you are already filled with righteousness, you are already given mercy, you can already see God and the kingdom of heaven is already yours. Now. Because of me."
The Christian life brings blessing. Great blessing. Blessing which can never me measured and quantified. Blessing which is infinite. Blessing which can never be removed. Blessing which is yours, now, for eternity.
If you don't follow Jesus as your Savior, why not?
If you follow Jesus as your Savior, live for him. Be broken, but live in healing. Be merciful. Be gracious. Be a peacemaker. Keep your eyes on heaven. Which is already yours. That is worship.
worship Him 24/7...
scott
PS... Below is a graphic which summaries the entirety of The Beatitudes. Man!... Jesus is one incredible teacher.
The Christian life brings blessing. Great blessing. Blessing which can never me measured and quantified. Blessing which is infinite. Blessing which can never be removed. Blessing which is yours, now, for eternity.
If you don't follow Jesus as your Savior, why not?
If you follow Jesus as your Savior, live for him. Be broken, but live in healing. Be merciful. Be gracious. Be a peacemaker. Keep your eyes on heaven. Which is already yours. That is worship.
worship Him 24/7...
scott
PS... Below is a graphic which summaries the entirety of The Beatitudes. Man!... Jesus is one incredible teacher.