Hey family!
Happy new month! This is officially our first discussion in March so happy new month is surely in order. I trust you are doing well and bouncing in the Lord. LOL! There is a popular old-school Nigerian Christian song with this title and just typing that phrase made me smile and remember my childhood, and the now old-school songs I grew up singing. Friends; bounce in the Lord! Make your boast in Him; put your confidence in Him; when life happens, go back to Him to recover; when it ‘seems’ like you’ve failed, take refuge in Him. He is more than enough for all we will ever need.
This week, I’m still on my book of Matthew learnings, so let’s talk about Matthew 5. I reckon we mostly know this chapter for ‘The Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount’ as it is referred to in some circles. While reading this chapter, I felt like I had been mildly cheated by being forced to memorize these verses when I was younger. I think that if I had been carefully taught the essence and relevance of this parable, the value would have stayed with me as the insights here are deeply instructive for everyone irrespective of age or season of life. Anyway, I’m glad that the Holy Spirit is still available to guide me into all truth.
Let’s get right into it!
The chapter begins with Jesus taking position on a mountain to teach [instruct by precept, example, or experience] on certain values and characteristics, hence why it is referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount”. The values and characteristics are popularly referred to now as “The Be-Attitudes” signifying attitudes a Christian should have. As I studied however, I found that this chapter isn’t just about the character traits or confessions we now so frequently pronounce over ourselves; rather it provides us signposts for life. It tells us precisely how God expects us to posture our hearts, what to expect as believers, the provisions He already put in place for us, and gives guidance notes on how to live even regarding tricky issues such as conflict resolution.
Let’s start with verses 3-7 today for the sake of my word count.
Verse 3: “Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous— with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!”
I found it interesting that Jesus started with His teaching with the humble. It may have been a coincidence, but it could also be that he was laying emphasis on this posture of heart. This made me pause to ask and think – am I humble as this verse describes? My answer is, ‘I am work in progress’. I suggest you ask yourself the same. I understood humility here to mean, ‘an unentitled, submitted, grace-based approach to life and living’ and the reward being having an inheritance in the Father’s kingdom. In simple terms, pride or any form of haughtiness is unacceptable to God. (see Proverbs 21:4). The lesson here: true humility is imperative for us as Christians.
Verse 4: Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favour and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!
Here, it was gladdening to know that God is deeply concerned about those in mourning – perhaps due to grief or emotional pain. It is comforting to know because grieving can be such a lonely time; but He guarantees us true comfort at such times. Added to comfort is a promise to replace grief with pure joy – the kind that flows from a revelation of His love and grace as seen in Isaiah 61:3. How loving and reassuring! Whenever you feel any sorrow, this is surely one promise you can leverage for comfort.
Verse 5: Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth!
I love how the Amplified Classic translation gives the detail to the words used here and, in this chapter, generally. Inheriting the earth is without a doubt a long-term thing; so, it makes sense that it is only those who are patient and longsuffering, mild mannered and not brash with a legacy outlook that will inherit it. This inheritance also has abundant peace (security and divine providence) layered on it. (See Psalm 37:11). When I read this, I prayed for grace to be meek because God is still working on me on this patience matter.
Verse 6: Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favour and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!
Oh, what a joy! This is by far my favorite verse on this subject, so much so that I recorded a podcast episode on my insights from this verse. Check it out here. This is such a powerful promise from our Father! All we must do is hunger and thirst to be in right standing with Him – aligned and intimate; and He assures us of being completely satisfied. This infilling is like no other because you’ll end up filled, running over and brimming forth. Every part of you satisfied, every thirst quenched, every hunger filled up, complete and thorough satisfaction! The lesson here: hunger and thirst for Him beyond anything else.
Verse 7: Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!
The matter of mercy is quite interesting when it comes to everyday life. The Dictionary defines mercy as, ‘compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.’ Yes, we know God wants us to be merciful, but when it comes down to our daily lives, we are often more predisposed to being merciful to those whom we can’t punish, or those from whom we ourselves have received mercy. Here, Jesus is discussing the same dimension of undeserving and loving mercy we continue to receive from Him daily. Please note that this isn’t the principle of reciprocity at play here, rather it’s seed time and harvest. He sowed himself as a seed of mercy for us, and the life we live now is the harvest; so here, He is calling us to also be seeds of mercy that others can reap from. The lesson here: Be a seed of mercy. Give it as Jesus freely gives it to us daily.
That’s all for today. I hope this has blessed you. Remember to leave comments and share with your own community so we all grow together!
As always,
