|
15 entries for this category: | The Beatitudes Comfort Us |
[T]he Beatitudes ... comfort us, because they
show us that no matter what condition we are in, we are never beyond God's blessings. The
traditional way of reading the Beatitudes is that these are prescriptions, things we are supposed to go out
and do and be. ?I need to be poor in spirit. I need to be meek.? But as the writer Dallas Willard points out,
the Beatitudes may not be prescriptions, but descriptions, of the different kinds of people that God
blesses. The context makes this clear, right? Jesus has just finished healing all kinds of people , the
sick, the poor, and the outcast , then he climbs up on this mountain, and he looks out on this rag tag
group of followers who are poor in spirit and mourning. Jesus looks at these people he has just healed,
and he says, ?You are exhibit A that proves that you are never beyond God's reach. Even here in your
dire circumstances, you have just experienced the Kingdom of God as it is coming in me, Jesus Christ,
and is made available to everyone through Jesus.? Many of these Beatitudes are not good things to be. It
is not a good thing to be poor, or mourning, or even meek and run all over. Those are not things to strive
for. In fact, those are things that God calls us to eliminate, and to be bold for him. But what Jesus is
saying is that even if you are in those awful situations, God is there, he heals, and he can make his
blessings known. By: Scott Dudley
Category: The Beatitudes |
|
Comment |
Helpful? |
Favorite |
Violation |
|
|
 |
  |
 |
 |
|
|
| The Beatitudes Challenge our Values |
The Beatitudes disturb us because they force us to reevaluate what we're striving for.
These blessings are very different than our own. In our culture, we say, blessed are the smart, the
beautiful, the rich, the popular. We don't think the meek are blessed. People who attend success seminars at the Sheraton, they're blessed, but not the meek. As a friend of mine who works in business
says, ?The meek may inherit the earth, but they'll never increase market share.? This is so different from
our culture's views. Just look at our commercials. They make it seem like the worst possible fate you
could ever suffer as a human being is to have thinning hair, or be overweight, or God forbid have bad
breath or ring around the collar. But Jesus turns those values upside down and redefines what the good
life is. In Jesus' definition, the good life is whenever and however we experience God. That's a blessing.
The thing about people who are mourners, or the poor in spirit, is that these are people whose condition
often forces them to go to God and receive his blessing.By: Scott Dudley
Category: The Beatitudes |
|
Comment |
Helpful? |
Favorite |
Violation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next >> |
