Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 20:16
The Least Will Be First
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
John 14:26-27 (KJV)
A Peace He Gives Us, But this Peace is Not of this World
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
I often ask and wonder where God might be today...And as I read and study Jesus' Sermon on the Plain and His Sermon on the Mount, I wonder if God is often with those in despair...Is God found more often in our sorrows and in our pains?...Is His presence to be found in our toughest moments in life?...As I read the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus paints a despairing picture...He tells us we are blessed, when we are low and poor in spirit...We are blessed when we are mourning...We are blessed, when we are at our meekest...Somehow and someway God knows when we are in great despair...It seems we often we feel God when we are at the depths of our own despair...When we are at the end of our hopes, we better see Him...When we have no where else to go, there He is...
To be least, meek, weak, and to mourn in God's Kingdom is to be blessed...God's Kingdom is quite different than what we might think it be...One might think one needs to be full of self-esteem, be strong, and to be tough and not cry or weep in this world...But that is not what Jesus' teaches...
Do we seek Him more when we are at our lows?...Do we seek Him less, when we are happy and smiling, and at our highs?...Do we better see Him, when we are at our least?...God created us, and He can fix any brokenness in us...God gives us this Comfort which is different...God gives us a peace that we somehow feel and somehow mysteriously understand, that it is not quite from this world...And hanging on to this peace, gives us some strength to move on, and somehow get by...In all the despair, we can somehow feel This Hope...