I had been studying more on provision when….
As I was learning how to better provide for you guys and your mother I began running across what we call rabbit trails. They wander off all over the place! What got me on this particular rabbit trail is Matthew 5.
I had decided I needed to memorize the sermon on the mount. Probably about the 15th time of rereading the Be attitudes something stuck out. As you grow and read your bible you will come across things like this, PAY ATTENTION, it generally means God is trying to get your attention. So let’s look at these so called Be attitudes.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
See I’ve read all this before. I’ve read commentaries on it. Heard ALOT of sermons on it. Blessed, Blessed, what does that mean? What did Jesus mean Blessed? I looked it up. Depending on who is saying it and in what context it can mean several things. In the Old Testament it was common to hear blessed be the name of the Lord. This was more an understanding of my place in relation to His. Call it a confession of the obvious.
In Psalms you will see blessed a lot. A lot of times it refers to wealth. God giving His people wealth. Then there is the blessing of children, the fruit of the womb, blessing of understanding…. so on and so forth.
Jesus wasn’t talking about any of this. Here is the greek definition of the word blessed, hold on to it,
3107 makarios mak-ar’-ee-os a prolonged form of the poetical makar (meaning the same); supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off:– blessed, happy.
Consider the first line, Blessed are the poor in spirit. Poor means lacking, not having something that others have. So Jesus is telling us that if you are lacking in this area if you don’t have something that others do, you ought to consider yourself in a (blessed) position. Let’s keep going it get’s clearer.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Hmm… your crying, your sad, and yet Jesus tells us we should consider ourselves happy.
As you keep reading you start seeing that Jesus is describing attributes and situations that don’t look fortunate, happy, or well off. You can count yourself blessed when your meek, making peace, merciful (meaning you just got wronged), pure, and hungering for righteousness. The clincher, the thing that really explains this all is found in the last be command.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Your getting picked on for your beliefs, people are telling lies about you, and here is Jesus telling us to rejoice, be happy!
If God considers you blessed then your may very well not look on the outside like your well-off. You’ve probably been made meek, (Much humiliation produces humility). You’re probably sad and in need of comfort. You may even be in a lawsuit, in jail, or worse. Yet it is His character shining through you that is making you blessed. It is His comfort you receive when your mourning. And it is His reward to give if you physically die and go to heaven. Being blessed has nothing to do with feeling happy, looking rich, or being popular. Those things can actually be a warning sign! You may need to re-evaluate your life and compare it with His.
So my sons as you grow, be aware that people will say mean things when you dress different or tell them we don’t watch that kind of show. When someone steals your idea and steps all over you to get ahead, you want the right thing and so you let it work something out of your spirit. Then you turn around and pray that God would help them get ahead. Life will rain on you. You will see good and bad. Let God use the things He will to save your soul. The things of this life are tools. They help you do a job. When your done, not one single tool of yours is going with you to the grave. And they won’t be waiting on you when you come out.
