Impossible to Achieve, Unless . . .

Matthew 5:3-10, NIV

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

    for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

    for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

    for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

    for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

    for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

    for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I’m sure you noticed that the scripture today is the same as last time. No, I didn’t forget what I did yesterday.  I said this passage forms the not only the core of the Sermon on the Mount, but of the whole gospel.  It merits at least a week, but we’re giving it two days.

More than any other chunk of teaching from Jesus I’m aware of, the beatitudes draw a sharp contrast between those whose lives have become about following Jesus and those whose Christianity is skin deep.  The all-in Christ followers’ lives just look different.  They sense blessing when they’ve lost everything, they embrace grief as a way to grow in otherwise impossible ways, and they are genuinely content no matter how much or how little they have.  They don’t seem to care about things other “normal” people care about and they give attention to matters others think foolish.  Most people have compassionate tendencies, but Christ followers exhibit compassion that seems weak and/or stupid to others.  They don’t settle for being seen as good by others, but they hunger for the deep goodness that’s only available from God.  They don’t engage in the bickering division that has reach epidemic proportions in today’s culture, but instead work to bring people together.  Because they are so different from others and often upset the apple cart, they often become targets of ridicule and sometimes outright persecution.  Incredulously, when that happens, the followers of Jesus described in these verses wear it as a badge of honor.   The hard truth is that Jesus has set the bar impossibly high here.   As I think about all the Christians I have known in my life, I only can name a few that exhibited all these qualities on a regular basis.  My name is not among the names on that list.  The irony is that I feel quite sure that none of the people I would put on a such a list would judge themselves worthy to be on it.

Then why would Jesus start a sermon for the ages with a description that virtually no one but Himself could live up to?  The answer, I believe, is in the question itself.  Jesus lived out these attitudes perfectly.   We do not.  But Jesus has given us access to Himself.  We have access to the same power Jesus had that enabled him to embody the Beatitudes.  This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).  Paul had discovered that there was a way to tap into Christ-powered living that he, in himself, was not capable of doing.  That way is available to all, but it isn’t without cost. 

By drawing this stark contrast, Jesus makes it clear the Beatitude life is only available to those who would let go of the life they now have.  Later in Chapter 16, Jesus will state it this way, “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25).  Too often, we make this “letting go” Jesus speaks of too esoteric and metaphorical.  It is way more tangible and difficult than that.  To the extent we let our life be consumed by the opposites of these beatitudes, we will never take hold of the life Jesus offers. This happens when we. . .

• Define our lives by what we have lost instead of what we have gained though those losses.
• Avoid grief instead of embracing it as a way toward deeper living.
• Expend most of our energies seeking “more” or protecting what have instead of seeing the blessing in things just as they are.
• Allow anyone or anything other than God become the highest object of our affection,
• Fall into a life centered on our own needs and wants above others.
• Indulge our “shadow selves” to the point where we become blind to the goodness God offers.
• Allow our need to be right or vindicated overshadow the deeper need to be at peace with our brothers and sisters around us.
• Hide our faith and convictions in order to not “rock the boat,” draw criticism, or protect our position.

The reason Jesus raises up this unattainable standard right up front is to help us see contrast between life in the kingdom of earth and life in the kingdom of heaven AND to set up the rest of the sermon where He teaches us how to move out of the first and into the latter.  We begin talking about that next time.

Question:  Do you sense a difference between the life you are now currently living and the life you sense God is calling you into? 

Prayer:  Change my heart O, God. Make it ever true. Change my heart, O God, may it be like you. Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for peace in the places across our world where there is war and violence. 

Song:  Change My Heart, O God – Sing-along version (words and music by Eddie Espinosa)

Here’s the story behind the song told by Espinosa:

“The year was 1982. I had been a Christian since 1969, but I saw a lot of things in my life that needed to be discarded. I had slowly become very complacent. I acknowledged my complacency, and I prayed to the Lord, ‘The only way that I can follow you is for you to change my appetite, the things that draw me away. You must change my heart!’” 

“Shortly thereafter I was in my car on the way to my work, feeling a desire to draw near to God and with the wrestling still going on in my heart. Suddenly, a melody and some words began to flood through my mind. As I stopped at a stop sign, I reached for something to write on. The first thing I found was a small piece of yellow paper, which, by the way, I still have, and began to write as rapidly as I could. It was like taking dictation. I wrote the words on the paper and kept the melody in my mind.”