What would you say a blessed life looks like?
A lot of people might say that a blessed life is a life in which everything is going well. We might have good health, a nice house, a job we enjoy, and lots of possessions which can give the impression that our lives are flourishing. From a worldly perspective, we might see happiness, success, popularity or affluence as signs of being blessed. To use an old saying, we might say that we’re blessed if we are healthy, wealthy and wise.
Jesus gives us a very different picture of what it means to be blessed. The passage of Scripture which is known as the Beatitudes and opens Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:1-12 points us in a completely different direction if we want to find God’s blessings. Jesus described the people who are blessed as “the poor in spirit”, “those who mourn”, “the meek”, “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”, “the merciful”, “the pure in heart”, “the peacemakers”, and “those who are persecuted because of righteousness” (vv3-12 NIV).
From an earthly point of view, we could look at the people Jesus is describing here as people who are not being blessed or are lacking blessings. We might even look at people who are like those that Jesus described and think that God may have abandoned them and taken his goodness or grace from them which is why their lives look sad or empty. In a world where people tend to believe that good things happen to good people, and physical, emotional and spiritual prosperity are signs of that goodness in our lives, what Jesus described can seem like the opposite of blessings. It can even seem like these people are cursed in some way.
Jesus turns worldly values and priorities upside-down. It can really challenge our perspective when he points towards people who are hurting, empty or in need and says that they are the ones who are blessed by God and who are finding God’s blessings in their lives.
Jesus teaches us that we find what it means to be truly blessed when the superficial trappings of the world are taken away from us, and we need to look something outside of ourselves to fill the holes in our lives and meet our deeper needs. That’s why Jesus points us in a different direction to find the lasting and life-giving blessings of God. He directs us towards those who are “poor in spirit” or those who know that they’re missing something in their hearts which the world can’t provide; who grieve a loss they have experienced in their lives which all their best efforts can’t bring back; who are meek, meaning those who are strong but still gentle with those around them; who know there’s something deeply wrong with the world in which we live and who hunger and thirst for it to be made right again, starting with them; who show mercy, which is kindness to those who might deserve it the least but need it the most; whose hearts are pure and unstained by selfishness or greed; who would rather pursue peace between people than fuel a conflict; who are persecuted or who suffer because they are living for what is good, right and true in their lives and in the world; who are given a hard time, excluded or put down because they are followers of Jesus.
When we read this list of people whom God blesses, we can look for points of connection with our lives. We might not identify with them all, but at different times and in different ways, we can probably read some of them and see ourselves in Jesus’s words. We might be empty inside, mourning a loss, or suffering because of our faith in Jesus. We might be holding back in meekness, hungry for what’s right, showing mercy to someone who has wronged us, or working for peace in a conflicted relationship. In those times when we identify with the people he’s described, or we want to live out his goodness in our relationships with others, Jesus encourages us to trust that he hasn’t abandoned us, he hasn’t forgotten us, and he hasn’t withheld his blessing from us.
Because for each of these, Jesus promises to do something good in us and through us so we can know God’s blessings. When we are lacking something in our heart or spirit, he assures us that he makes us members of the kingdom of heaven which is full to overflowing with God’s goodness. When we mourn a significant loss, we can find comfort, peace and hope in the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and his victory over death. When we are meek, the One who showed ultimate strength in gentleness with others promises that we will inherit a redeemed and restored earth when he returns at the end of time. When we are hungry and thirsty for what is right, Jesus fills us with his all-sufficient righteousness and makes right what is wrong in us by his grace. When we extend his mercy towards others, he promises to show us mercy. When our hearts are made clean and pure by God’s love for us in Jesus, we will see the face of God in eternity but also in surprising and unexpected ways in this life. When we work for peace, he will call us his children as we seek to establish and share our Father’s peace in Jesus with others. When we are put down, made fun of or treated badly because of the righteousness God gives us through faith in Jesus, we will reign in righteousness with Christ for eternity. And when people call us names, hurt us or tell lies about us because we follow Jesus in faith, hope and love, we can know that Jesus experienced the same from others, so he is with us in those times, blessing us with his grace, love and strength.
When life is going well and we receive God’s blessings in the good things of life, we can give thanks to God for his goodness to us. When life isn’t like this, the Beatitudes give us hope and peace because they tell us that we have God’s blessings in the hard times too. God blesses those who need it and look to him for his blessing instead of relying on themselves and their own abilities. If we are looking for a way to live that blesses us and the people around us, the Beatitudes show us the path into God’s blessings. Especially as we celebrate All Saints Sunday and remember loved ones who have passed into eternity before us, we can find God’s life-giving and hope-inspiring blessings in his promises of grace and peace to us in Jesus. We can find a God who is close to us and provides us with everything we need for our bodies, minds and spirits for this life and the next, even when it doesn’t look like it from a worldly point of view.
More to think about or discuss:
- What does a blessed life look like to you? Do you look for God’s blessings only in the good things of life, or also in the struggles and difficulties? Why do you do that…?
- As you read the Beatitudes, is there one thing Jesus says that you connect with more than the others? Why do you identify with that?
- What are the promises God is making to you in the Beatitudes? How might your life be different if you trusted God’s promises to bless you in life’s struggles & difficulties?
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