Our idea of being blessed in this postmodern and materialistic world that we live in, is perhaps owning a sleek sedan or beaming Benz; classy clothes and daunting dollars; articulate speech and grande gifts. Things. That is our idea of being blessed. Usually, we esteem it mostly among those of a higher standard than the average mwananchi, and most times we are trapped by these cares of our world, our goal being to amass as many blessings as we can. In fact, we do most things with the aim of 'being blessed'. Yet Christ is clear when He tells us that love of the world and love of God are two distinct and opposing kinds of Love (1 John 2: 15 -17).
In light of this, the Sermon on the Mount as written in Matthew 5 presented and still presents a challenge to us during these current times. The context is that Jesus was speaking to His disciples, and others present (crowds, Matt 5:1) concerning the Beatitudes.
"One way of understanding the word 'blessed' is 'to be congratulated'. Congratulate the poor in spirit, the meek or the persecuted?" (BSF Lesson 5 notes).
Similarly, we seem just as baffled that Jesus would say that these cohort of 'undeserving people' are blessed. It is far off from our imagination, we even ask "in this day and age Jesus, really? This is the 21st century . . . ." These 8 beatitudes present the keys to a joyful life, because we realize that the people who we assume are blessed because of the many possessions they have, are not necessarily filled with joy, especially if they thought that these would be the means to a joyful life. Yes, people own big houses but empty homes. People look classy but deep down, their performance is below average. The beatitudes show the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, who is available for everyone who believes upon the name of the Lord. (Acts 2:38, Eph 1:13).
This week in my meditations, I have asked myself these deep questions in line with what Jesus was saying here by the mountainside: what does it really mean to be poor in spirit? or blessed are those who mourn? do I hunger and thirst for righteousness? do I really rejoice when I am persecuted? It has humbled me, to know what God really expects of me. I have definitely come up short on several accounts. Reading further into the chapter, Jesus says that "He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it." (5:16). Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience, people who held very strongly to their traditions and Laws, and He was somehow appealing to them and illustrating that through His person, He had fulfilled all the requirements of the Law. In fact He quotes the ten commandments when He begins, "You have heard that it was said . . . " in verses 21, 27, 31, 33. The pharisees, who were self-righteous people ('we are too cool for all of you mere mortals') kept all the Laws, and Paul had been one of them and even testifies (Phil 3:5). But Jesus here offers a warning to the disciples when he tells them that they wouldn't enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless their righteousness surpassed the Pharisees' (Matt 5:20) - that is, those who were 'perfect' in the eyes of their society. However, they observed the Law and as much as they didn't commit murder, they seem to have had hatred in their hearts for their brothers (Matt 5:22). They didn't commit adultery, but they lusted in their hearts and Jesus said that this in itself is adultery (Matt 5:28). Sounds very familiar for all of us. In short, "the heart of the matter is that it is a matter of the heart" as our teacher at BSF summarized. Every good or bad thing flows from the heart (Luke 6:45).
How does this apply to us? I realize every day that pursuing Holiness is a daunting almost discomforting task, yet it is the most noble. (Matt 6:33). In fact, with righteousness, we have all things. But the standard of righteousness according to Jesus, is not that of self-effort (Phil 3:9). His righteousness rebukes our futile attempts at being good. (1 John 2:9 - 11, 1 John 3:16 - 18). The only way we could ever hope to be blessed is by humility, to accept that we are inadequate and to continuously lean towards Him to give rest to our souls; to confess that we are inadequate and He is all we need in order to have an abundant life (Matt 11:28 - 30, 2 Chron 7:14 - 16, John 10:10). As I continue to walk this earth, it dawns on me how we are similar and that we all fight battles of different kinds, and the only difference is that there are some who expend all their energy fighting their own battles, and there are some who depend upon Jesus to help them fight their battles. You see, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only 'religion' that has strict rules AND ALSO offers a way to fulfill those rules. It is more than rules though. Much more. Being righteous seems a difficult task, but we can trust Him who had no sin (1 John 3:5), to help us in our times of trouble (1 Cor 10:13), and to provide for us a way towards God (John 14:6). In turn, God will continue to conform us to the perfection that is in Christ (Rom 8:29) and to enable us to act as He would want us to, in whatever day to day activities we find ourselves in (Phil 2:12 - 13). So we can be confident that the work which He has began in us, He will definitely see it to completion (Phil 1:6).
Be blessed.
***More details on BSF (https://www.bsfinternational.org/). "There is always a place for you." Nairobi classes are at Parklands Baptist on Thursdays evening, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM or All Saints Cathedral on Mondays evening from 5:45 - 7:45 PM. Open for Young adults who want to investigate the claims of scripture or deepen their intimacy with the Scripture as well as to share with other young people from different backgrounds.
***If you may have any questions or prayer items, feel free to email me at kevin.muriithi89@gmail.com
