Are you blessed?

Matthew 5:1–12 (ESV): 

5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 

The Beatitudes

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

Jesus had something particular that he wanted the disciples to know, so he drew them close to him, making sure that they could see and hear him. Through this teaching, Jesus helped to reframe their thinking by showing them that God sees, cares about, and honours different things than what the average human does. 

God cares about not just the poor in a financial sense, but the poor in spirit. Those who recognise their need of God and live in humility before him - they are blessed. Those who mourn, grieve, are sad for a time (mourning should not last forever), are promised comfort. A sad demeanour should not be constant for anyone. The promise is that ‘they shall be comforted’. God will bring comfort, and when He does, accept it. 

The meek - gentle, humble and submissive, ‘shall inherit the earth’! Those who will not put themselves forward, who recognise their limits, who allow others to go first and treat them with kindness, these are the ones who get everything. Meekness is not admired, fostered or appreciated by the majority of the world, but God admires it. It is a quality that is rare, but is valued when it is seen. Can you develop meekness in your own life? 

Hungering and thirsting for righteousness promises satisfaction. There are many things you can hunger and thirst for; food, money, possessions, promotion, a particular standard of life. These things do not offer satisfaction, only hungering and thirsting for God does. If you want to be really fulfilled, seek God. he provides all you need, and more. 

The merciful shall receive mercy - that makes sense. We like to feel that you get what you deserve. This promise is that you do by not treating others as they deserve! When you show forgiveness and leniency to those who have wronged you, you too are dealt with leniently and can know forgiveness as you are afforded mercy by God. 

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’ - being sincere and living with integrity means that you shall see God - how incredible! Are your motives and thoughts pure? Are you concerned about material matters or spiritual ones? Only one kingdom will last forever, so make sure you are aligning your thoughts, motives and behaviour with what God desires, then you shall see Him.

The peacemakers, those who strive to bring peaceful resolution and not riots, fall-outs, complications or arguments, are living like sons of God. It is easy to argue with someone, or cause strife between people, harder to get different people with different opinions, perspectives, and desires working together. Yet, is that not exactly what God does? He calls everyone to be part of His family, from every class, situation and nation. So, by drawing others into unity of purpose, you can demonstrate that you are indeed acting like God’s child. 

These are the things Jesus taught his disciples as he went up the mountain. These lessons were for the disciples, those closest to him, those he had called to himself. Yet others would have heard as it mentions that there were crowds. The real cost of discipleship is not what job you have, where you live, how much you do or give, but it is developing the character that displays the Kingdom of God. I am sure you admire and appreciate people who demonstrate these attributes, but do you also have them? 

Are you listening to wisdom?

 James 3:13 (ESV): 'Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom……

…….17 the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere'. (James 3:17)

‘Who is wise and understanding?’ 

What a good question to ponder - who do you know that is wise? 

James informs us that wisdom, like faith, is shown by how you live. It is not boastful - showing off what you know and understand, or telling everyone how smart you are. In fact, the wisest people listen, consider and then communicate what they believe is useful to convey. 

The wise, James says, are meek. I find it interesting that he uses this word, as meekness is not a quality that you hear of, that people seek to attain, or that seems valued. So it can be difficult to understand what it is. Meekness includes being; humbly patient, quiet in nature, submissive, forbearing and gentle. Reading these words can seem like being meek is being a pushover, but meekness is about knowing where you are taking your bearings from. Meekness in wisdom is about being patient with others and in life, knowing when to speak and when not to, having internal peace, being submissive to God, keeping on going even when it is hard as well as being mild and kind. No wonder we do not see meekness much, do you know anybody with all of those qualities? 

Those that are wise do not let the events of life rock them, they quietly, gently keep going, maintaining the peace in their hearts through their relationship with God. Not only have the wise learnt a lot through the lessons of life, but they do not shout about it. Wise people listen more than they speak, I have seen this in those that i would consider wise. They are often quiet and considered, and when they do communicate it comes with a weight as the power of their experienced words settles on the ears of those who hear it. Those with understanding wait and consider before they speak - No wonder James has been exhorting us to consider our speech and how much we say - he wants you to become wise! 

‘the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.’

Godly wisdom results in the above qualities. Wisdom is firstly pure - hence it results from relationship with God, if it stems from anywhere else then it could not be truly pure. In its purity, wisdom is unassuming and has no ulterior motive, it is genuine and kind, yet can be so easily overlooked. Wisdom is seen in a life lived out. Those that are wise are known more for their character and conduct than by their knowledge. What they understand is evidenced by how they live their lives and their priorities. If you want to learn from someone who you consider wise - watch them and listen to their insight. 

We are all in contact with people, some of them will be more wise than yourself - do you value them? Do you listen to their counsel and take it onboard or are you someone that just wants to make their own way in the world, disregarding the advice and assistance of others? God has given you wise people in your life for a reason. There are lessons you can learn, mistakes you can avoid and relationships you can build if you are prepared to open your mind and follow the wisdom that is shared with you. Look out for times when someone comes alongside you and offers advice that may be different to how you are living, or that counteracts your own ideas or those of society. Those people may be desiring to share a bit of wisdom they have gained to help you also live a life of gentle submission, peace, sincerity and mercy. The wise notice, and when they speak it is worth listening to. They have no motive other than to assist you in living a more wise and godly life - is that what you want for yourself?