1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
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Well sisters, I've been procrastinating on putting out this post because I've felt a little intimidated about diving into the sermon on the mount. I see it as the bread and butter of the gospels. Here is where our king lays down his constitution.
The blessings here are so challenging. May we all be found worthy so that we can share in the kingdom of heaven, be comforted, inherit the earth, be satisfied, receive mercy, see God, be called sons of God, and have a great reward in heaven! Could anyone desire anything more?
I think that I've heard about 100 sermons on the salt and light section in my evangelical days. People like to wax eloquent about the characteristics of salt and how we are like that but really we just don't know exactly which characteristics he was thinking of. Sure salt is purifying, makes things taste better, is persevering, etc but it's also stings in a wound and too much of it will kill you. It's not good interpretation to just expand an illustration in all the directions that suit you and reject the ones you don't like. What we do know about this, though, is that Jesus was saying that if we become useless we are about as useless as saltless salt (probably sand in that day).
The light paragraph gives me pause because Jesus seems to suggest that we should do our good works so that others might see us. In chapter 6, in particular, he then emphasizes how we should not do our good so that others will see us. How can this be reconciled? I think what he's really saying is that we should do our good works so that others will give glory to our father who is in heaven. Let us keep our purpose to this.
May you all be blessed today, sisters. Do you have any thoughts?
That's interesting about the light. How I understand these two contexts is that when we do good deeds, (giving alms in chapter 6) it shouldn't be broadcast or announced for others to see. However, if we have the light of Christ, the accompanying characteristics can't be hid. The fruits of the Spirit are that light that should shine before others, that they can see Christ in us and glorify God.
ReplyDeleteHi again sisters! Sorry it's been so long since I've written anything. As I said before, we moved across the country and just got to our destination about 2 weeks ago. Here in North Carolina, we'll hunker down for the winter and prepare to have a baby in about a month! Please pray for us, as we need the Lord's help so much during this time.
ReplyDeleteSomething I love about our King is that his mandates and instructions are all about the state of our heart. Yes, we have clear lists of do's and dont's, but everything He teaches goes back to our hearts. It has been noted that Christianity is not about accomplishments or completing certain events (like going to Mecca for example). Jesus never says " make sure you go to the Holy City where your ancestors are from, and when you're in Jerusalem do x, y, and z." Nor does he command us to make a million dollars so that all may see that we are children of the King. Many would never be able to make a large sum of money, and certainly not everyone would be able to travel afar. But anyone willing to abandon their life can die to themselves and rise anew through His Spirit and power! Anyone can become poor in spirit, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, and do the right thing even in the face of persecution with the Lord's help. I am not saying this is an easy list, we need the Lord to dwell in our hearts to overcome this world! I need Him every hour in my existence, lest I become fleshly and not spiritual. But bless God that "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are," 1Cor 27-28.
The part about salt and light is like a declaration from Jesus about us " this is who you are in this world" and it also is like an exhortation to me not to hide from people in any way what God has done in my life and who He has made me and is making me.
God bless you all today. May the Lord help yusbe patient in tribulation and be overcomers. Amen. -Ashley
Amen, amen! You are in my prayers. When is your due date? Sorry that it's taken me a bit to respond. I'm not very regular about checking my emails.
ReplyDeleteI think that you're right on about the salt and light. I'll have to ponder that a bit.
December 18. But today is the first day we're in "the green zone" at 37 weeks and it's considered normal and baby would probably be just fine if they were born now, ptL! Little contractions here and there. Thank you so much for your prayers and we'll be remembering the Mawhorters in ours too. God be your guide, sisters.
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