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Monday
Reading: Matthew 5 v 48
If there is one thing that every believer wants and prays for, it is God’s blessing
upon them. All through scripture we see kings and queens, peasants and princes
all praying for the benefit of God’s blessing. Nothing has changed. Today there is
not one amongst us, I am sure, who does not want to be blessed of God. The
word “blessed” that Jesus uses in the nine beatitudes is an incredibly interesting
word. In Greek the word used is the word “sozo” which can be interpreted as
“happy”. But the other implication which comes from the Greek language infers
strongly that this “happiness” is not some superficial feeling that comes from
having nice circumstances, but is a far deeper sense of happiness that refers to
emotional wellness, wholeness of spirit and completeness of desire. It is this
happiness that Jesus desires for us to have. The Beatitudes, therefore, are not
just the fruit of a relationship with Jesus, but also the formula for true happiness
as a result of this way of life being seen to be the measure of the life that God can
bless.
I would like to begin this study at the end. Verse 48 says “…be perfect as your
heavenly Father is perfect”. The word “perfect” here means “fully grown, stable
and mature”. These adjectives are great descriptions of the nature of who God is.
God is fully grown, mature in every way and totally stable. God does not live on
an emotional roller coaster. He is not inconsistent, but He is completely humble,
meek, a wonderful peacemaker and incredibly merciful. God is not offended by
persecution He is in Himself a picture of “Beatitudinal” perfection. It is this
perfection that is the benchmark for the Beatitudes. As it is with God so God
would want for it to be with us.
Remember, however, that we do not attain this perfection necessarily
behaviourally or through our own self-will and good intentions, but it is through
the empowering Spirit of God that these attitudes can become more of a reality
in our lives. From a behavioural point of view, Jesus has set the bar so high that
there is not one of us who could possibly believe that we could attain that level
on our own. This, people, is the point that Jesus is trying to make. As you journey
through the Beatitudes, you will realise over and over again the futility of trying
to pull this way of life off on your own. Jesus, at the outset, wants us to face this
fact and recognise that only in humility and dependence upon God can these
attitudes, and resultant actions, be pleasing to Him.