Thoughts: Jesus was growing in popularity. One day he found the perfect amphitheater- a mountain that looked down toward the Lake. While his disciples came around him, the crowds came too- making circles around him as he taught. The greatest teaching of Jesus- the greatest sermon ever- was about blessing. Jesus teaches us to look deeper at life. He teaches us that under some of the rocks of life are nuggets of gold. He turns the world upside down by saying it is the mourning, the persecuted, the humble who are blessed. There is a kind of hope given here of heaven. We see God when we are pure- but we see Him face to face in heaven. We are ultimately comforted not in this life, but in heaven. But that is not all- the meek do not merely inherit heaven- they inherit the earth! The blessings of following Christ do not just come when we die. Eternal life does not begin after we die- but when we begin to really live the way God intends us to live. Jesus defines for us what a blessing is. It is not always a material, proud, haughty blessing. The best blessings- this infers- is an eternal spiritual blessing from trusting in God in the midst of pleasure or pain.
Prayer: Lord, when you teach me, help me to listen and to respond.
To Read/See a Sermon on the Introduction to the Beatitudes, click here
No comments:
Post a Comment