Living Hope: Blessedness

The previous article was on ‘crushed and not perished’. The following article is on those who are fortunate and supremely blessed. There is a link between these two articles and let us explore a little further.

What is the meaning of blessed? ‘Happy this is fortunate and supremely joyful’. What is the difference between being happy and blessed? Being happy might be based on circumstances but being blessed is something God does for you. You can have the joy of the Lord even though the circumstances are not good. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord, Blessed are they that keep his testimonies and that seek him with their whole heart; Psalm 119:1-2. ^{1, 2}

In the Sermon on the Mount, our Savior has given 8 characteristics of blessed people. On each of them a present blessing is pronounced and a future blessing is promised. Being poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek, those who thirst and hunger for righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are poor in heart, those who are peace makers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are those who are blessed and those who are promised a future blessing.

The Beatitudes (Matt:5:3-12)

³Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
¹⁰Blessed 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.

Poor in Spirit: ³Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This means the poverty in spirit
and does not mean the lack of finances in this world in general.
Poverty in spirit is a very gracious disposition of soul,
because it is much easier to empty ourselves before God in that disposition.
When we are emptied of ourselves that will be replaced by Jesus Christ
when we cry out to God.
This is to have humble and lowly in our eyes in opposition to have a hearty look.
It is to acknowledge that God is great and we are not,
and to acknowledge that we are sinful and we are in constant need of Him;
and this is to acknowledge that we are nothing
and to humble ourselves before His mighty hand.
This humility and poverty in spirit work against all self- confidence,
self-esteem, self -righteousness
and we totally depend on the merit of Christ for our justification,
and the spirit of grace for our sanctification

Those who mourn: ⁴Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. A godly sorrow towards wrong doing keeping our focus on Jesus Christ will bring redemption and sanctification. In other words those who mourn in Christ will have a life of repentance, lament for their sins and for the sins of others and this will be in regards to God’s glory and honor. In general they will have a sympathizing and empathizing heart towards the afflictions of others and they would look with compassion on the perishing souls of sinners. The Word of God assures them of their comfort for their mourning, because what is lost here for Christ’s Name will be restored to them in heaven.

Those who are meek: ⁵Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to the authority of God, His Word and His leading. The Word of God says that God’s directions comply with His designs and they are gentle toward all men; ²To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. Those who are meek are rarely and hardly provoked and they keep their own souls because of the possession of their patience. Forgiving their offenders will not be too difficult for them because of their gentle meekness, and they do not want to take revenge on any one. The Word of God gives the promise that they indeed shall inherit the earth. ¹¹But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace; Psa: 37:11.

What does it mean to ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’?⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. [It is not seeking self-righteousness, but it is the righteousness that comes from God. It is to depend, not on our own will-power to achieve it but upon God. In Jesus’ time, if there were anybody who would qualify for such earnest passion and zeal for God, that would be the Pharisees and the Scribes (Teachers of the Law). But in the same chapter (Matthew 5:20) Jesus makes a startling statement. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, You will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” How can one attain a righteousness, which even Pharisees failed to achieve? What kind of righteousness Jesus is talking about?

Romans 3:21-22 answers the question. “But now righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who will believe.” So then, righteousness of God is available through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe in Him. And those who will seek him, will find him and will be filled. Jesus himself claimed to be the one who will quench the thirst. John 7:37: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.”]³ God will indeed give them what they desire to be complete in their satisfaction. It is only God who fill the hungry souls, and it is God who quenches the thirst of the thirsty. In other words it is God who will fill their emptiness and He will never send them away empty.

Mercy: ⁷Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Roman society looked down on mercy, and this is in opposite to the teachings of Jesus. In today’s world when we talk about mercy one can ask where to get that! As believers we are called to be merciful to our bretheren who are afflicted and persecuted. We must have compassion on our bretheren who are less fortunate, and help those who are in a state of sin. We are called to be kind to one another.

Pure in heart: .⁸Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. The heart must be pure before God in opposition to what we see around us. As the world continues to pressure us to transform even believers to its own image/ selfish image, it is a challenge for us to keep our hearts pure before God. The heart must be purified, unmuddied, in opposition to pollution, corruption and defilement from the world and set apart only to God. ³Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. ⁵He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. ⁶This is the generation of them that seek him that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. Psalm 24:3-6. God is able to help us in this matter, and we can ask Him to create in us a clean heart and preserve it as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Who are peacemakers? ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Somewhere, somehow, someone received the idea that peacemakers live a "will not" life. "I will not fight," "I will not make war," "I will not kill." "I will not" may be the orientation of the pacifist but not of the biblical peacemaker. Jesus did not command His followers to be "I will not" disciples. Peacemakers are children of God. Their lives are not filled with running from violence, but of confronting it, bringing it under the judgment of God. (See Romans 12:17-21)

The Bible says: "As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." For Quaker merchants in Boston and Philadelphia (1600-1700) this meant sending ships to sea without cannon. It meant rusting the purpose and sovereignty of God -- confronting violence in the name of peace. Quakers, Mennonites, and Brethren were driven from their homes and lost everything they owned to both Americans and British during the Revolutionary War. The world was at war and it threw its wrath and violence indiscriminately against those who attempted to be peacemakers. In the Princeton meetinghouse today, blood stains remain on benches where British and American soldiers lay side by side as Friends, biblical peacemakers, ministered to thy dying on both sides.

A peacemaker confronts violence and brings it under God's judgment. Be it emotional and physical violence in marriage, or parent and child, violence between employer and employee, or the violence of crime and corruption, a peacemaker always sees an alternative to strife. He always pursues reconciliation; always understand the potential of God's mercy and grace. Peacemakers are ambassadors for Christ, as though god were entreating through them on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. Peacemaking begins with your mate, you in-laws, in your neighbourhood. It begins at work, or it begins in school. A peacemaker of the New Testament is patient, kind, not jealous -- he or she does not seek his own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered -- bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4,5, NASB).⁴

Those who are persecuted: ¹⁰Blessed 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. Word of God is a call for all believers to stand up for truth and righteousness at all cost. Lord Jesus was persecuted in this earth for His standing for truth and righteousness even towards the religious leaders, and also with the government of the land. Even if we are persecuted, we are assured that our reward will be great in heaven and it is a blessedness to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. The assurance is whatever is lost in earth for His name’s sake will be restored bountifully in heaven.

It is a comfort to see the way of suffering as a beaten road and it is an honour to follow the path of those who suffer for truth and righteousness for His name’s sake. The Lord will be their reward and their portion in this part of eternity in their suffering, and His grace is more than sufficient and this is indeed a true blessedness.

Website References:

Living Hope

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Blessedness

1. Do you know the difference between being happy and being ...

2. Blessedness | Define Blessedness at Dictionary.com

3. Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness – Beatitudes Bible ...

4. Blessed Are The Peacemakers - Quaker Heritage Press

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