Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I recognize my spiritual need, my
spiritual poverty, and turn my eyes upward to God, his Kingdom, where I see the
riches of heaven opened up to me. Certainly
I was made for more than this world.
Once I see the world for what it really is, just a world of empty
promises, I begin the journey to another kingdom. Before I can enter his kingdom I must find
discontent with my kingdom. I begin to
dream of a better way of life.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
This dream is shattered as I consider
the great chasm between me and God. I mourn
my rebellion, I become aware of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of
man. In the Genesis story I see what God
had initially intended - a paradise where God and man enjoy unbroken
fellowship, a place where all our needs are met, a place where God's kingdom is on earth. We forfeited this paradise thinking we could
figure out things for ourselves. How
foolish we are. How foolish I am. Yet I see in Scripture that God has not given
up on us. He will make things
right. He will restore the broken
relationship and in the hope of this grand reunion I find comfort.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Repenting of rebellion, I humble myself
- I become meek. I realize that my pride
and self reliance has gotten me nowhere.
Thinking the world would be mine if only I could be unshackled from the chains
of God, I have found myself with nothing. So, I humble myself. I empty myself. I submit
to God whom now I have come to know not as a tyrant but as a loving master. In doing so I become heir of everything I could ever desire.
Our desires change and we begin to imitate
God rather than rebelling against him.
We desire the same for others.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
will be filled.
Having found empty the promises of this
world I become hungry and thirsty for something else. Selfishness, pride, pleasure, and riches had
not really filled me - they simply bloated me.
I thought these things satisfied me, but now that I have put them aside I
feel a deep hunger and instead turn to the things of God - righteousness. And now I actually find true satisfaction! I am filled!
I begin to realize that my previous diet made me spiritually
grumpy. The diet of this world always
left me wanting. My soul knew that there
was more and now that my diet has changed from selfishness to righteousness I
finally feel satisfaction. The kingdom
of heaven is growing within me!
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
As the kingdom grows within me, I
notice changes in my life and changes in the way I am treated by others. As I have experienced grace and mercy in my
life, as I have been welcomed back from my rebellion, this new knowledge of God
is transforming me. This new feeling of
being filled has freed my from thoughts of revenge and retaliation. I am beginning to see the qualities of God
blossom even within me! As I realize I
am forgiven, I become forgiving. As I experience
God's mercy, I become merciful and, as I experience that, the mercy of God
becomes even more real in my own life.
The feelings of spiritual poverty are shedding from my soul like the skin
of a snake. My despair has been
transformed into joy! I am becoming the
person I was intended to be. The
contamination of this world is leaving my soul.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
I am becoming pure! How wonderful this is! I feel like
a new person. The discouragement
and dissatisfaction I previously felt was the result of the poisonous and toxic
environment I lived in. This vision of
God I had at the beginning of this process is becoming so much clearer. His kingdom is so much closer; the Paradise I
forfeited is being reclaimed; it's almost like the kingdom of heaven is within
me. I had been living in a cloud. The fog of this world had nearly blinded
me. No wonder I felt so poor - my vision
was so clouded that I tripped over every obstacle, I bumped into every
wall. I had no clear vision for my life,
I had no real hope for a future. It's
almost like I can see God! We are
friends again and I must let others know that God wants to be their friend as
well!
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
I see so many people who were like me -
alienated from God. They are still
living in the clouded world I once inhabited.
I see them bloated on the junk food of the world. There are so many living in the unrest that
comes from a life without God. They need
to be His friend and I am determined to bring the peace I have found with God
into their lives. How can I not share
with others this wonderful revelation I have come upon? Like me, many people see God as a tyrant, a dictator,
a despot. How wrong they are. How wrong I was. He is no bully, he's our Father. I am experiencing the peace of being a child
of God and begin the task of bringing this peace to others.
Our invitation is refused by some and we suffer because of it, but our
convictions are so strong and our hope is so real we can even rejoice in this.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are
you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad,
because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.
Not
everyone sees things the way I do. I thought
everyone would receive my invitation with enthusiasm, but instead they mock me. They claim they are already filled, they
claim their vision is just fine, they are happy with life without a
father. After all, orphans can do what
they want. Orphans have no bedtimes, no
chores, are never disciplined. I am sad
but my new-found joy cannot be quelled.
In fact, seeing their pitiful life reminds me even more of the great
reward I have found. I know that their
choices have no future while my choices will lead to an even greater experience
of God. This excites me! I observe that others who have found God have
had this same experience as well and I find peace in that. They can mock me, they can accuse me, they
can threaten me but I will never go back.
No one will take his joy and hope from me. I was fooled once, I will not be fooled
again.
I
am blessed!
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