As you begin this journey of reading the NT in 63 days you quickly come upon Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount beginning with the Beatitudes. I remember the first time I read the Sermon on the Mount as a new Christian and became very frustrated by what seemed like one contradiction after another. Later in Bible college having become acquainted with grace again I came to the Sermon on the Mount and was utterly discouraged by teachers who taught Matthew 5 & 6 like a brand new law code more strict and compelling than the old one.It was not until 2000 when I was introduced to a man named Dallas Willard that I really began to internalize the message of the Sermon on the Mount and in particular the Beatitudes.
The phrase “Blessed are . . .” is not the rigor or demands of law, but it is a state or condition that one enters by choice. Another way of saying it is, ‘it’s just like a kingdom hearted person to . . .’ or ‘You know your filled with the Spirit when . . .’ So that you and I are are not called to be poor in Spirit or mournful as much as we invited to take a Spirit-filled response to life as it comes at us. Kingdom hearted people in times of mourning do not mourn like those who have no hope but we trust in the life and the world to come. We are people who when beaten down do not give in to poverty of Spirit but fix our eyes on heaven. It is not that we are so meek and mild that we let people do evil to our families or our friends, but that we are the kind of people who can and do turn the other cheek when we are mistreated or run-over by the self-seeking. We do not need the affirmation of looking proud or confronting an offense.
It's not that we are under the demand of the law or under an obligation to be trampled. Instead Jesus paints a picture for us of a heart and life full of God’s grace, mercy, and humility. In this way I would invite you to practice the attitude of the Sermon on the Mount. As the Apostle Paul said, “Let this same attitude be in you” (Philippians 2.5).
Hal Hester
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Devotionals
2 comments:
Hal,
Thank you so much for your words today. From this reading, the transformation of Paul is what touches me the most. Sometimes I lose hope about loved ones that are non-believers. But Paul's story is there to show that one encounter with the Lord will change someone's life. Even those that seem "impossible" in our eyes. I will not lose hope.
By: Unknown on January 21, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Silvia:
Thank you for your post. When there are people who seem impossible to reach I am reminded that no matter how much I love them and want them to receive Christ, God the Father loves them even more than I and he wants them to come to know him. Isn't great that our God is the God of the impossible!
By: Unknown on January 22, 2009 at 9:11 AM
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