Monday, January 4, 2010

Day Four: Matthew 5:3-10

A friend of mine commented on the 2010 Daniel Fast Facebook Event that verse 6 from this famous passage will be her focus verse for these three weeks. This little section of Jesus' teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, is called the Beatitudes. This comes from a Latin word for blessed or happy, but when I was a kid, I thought it came from Be-Attitudes. You know, like the attitudes we needed to be. And still, I think that's pretty close too.

We just finished a series at my church called The Blessed Life. God has used it to shake up my son and the rest of our family too. We are living the more blessed life Pastor Craig talked about. It isn't easy. It's pushing me to the edge of myself. It takes a partner the caliber of my husband to pull it off. But it is an absolute rush like no other. I mean, I'd jump out of a plane or off a bridge in a flash (if it weren't for these kids I'm responsible for), but living the blessed life is far more rewarding and fulfilling and exhilarating than the best thrill ride I could imagine (which in my world is surely at Cedar Point, still on my bucket list).

But what it has cost is coming to terms with this verse. To live hungry and thirsty for righteousness. For justice. To passionately pursue a pure walk with God. To be filled, really filled. And for a long time I must have only thought with my head and not my heart that I believed these Beatitudes were true, but now, I can tell you from daring to try a couple of them, that they are so true. So truly blessed that it makes me consider betting my life that all of them are true.

Am I willing to be poor? And all that that entails?
What about mourning? Will I face that?
And being humble? I guess it's better than being humbled.
Hunger and thirst? Check physically, but how far will I go spiritually.
Merciful, pure, working for peace? Those things sound nice.
But what about persecuted? Do I really believe that the blessings on the other side of persecution are truly worth picking a fight with the darkness? I mean, the next two verses say I should be happy about it. But honestly I don't think I know anything at all about what real persecution is like.

In 2010, I want to be even more blessed. I've gotten a little taste of it and my soul craves more like my body craves a cheeseburger. Jesus told us who the blessed were and that's who I will have to be. Poor in spirit, mourning, humble, hungry and thirsty for justice and righteousness, merciful, pure, working for peace, and last but not least, persecuted.

I will pray today that all of you who are starting off your year getting hungry and thirsty physically will be captivated by a hunger and thirst to be more blessed by God than you've ever been. I will ask God that we will all experience His great blessing here on this earth by pursuing the kind of life described in the Beatitudes. I pray that as we realize our need for food that we will realize our very real need for Him.

1 comments:

Bea said...

Got to go to the mountain where Jesus taught these verses---WOW!! I have such a deep understanding of my need for HIM!!! HE is more than enough!!!