Matthew 5:7-10
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Markarios is the Greek word for blessed and it has several neat definitions, “possessing the favor of God, or a state marked by possessing the fullness from God, or one who has become a partaker of the nature of God because of faith in Jesus Christ.” Markarios is a state of being, a position, it does not change due to adverse circumstances. Blessed is not based on a feeling, it is based on a promise. We confuse being blessed with a feeling or good things happening. We say, “I’m blessed,” when things go in our favor and it’s true, but it’s just as true when things are tough, we are still blessed. Our position in Christ has not changed just because life is tough. At all times and in all circumstances we are blessed provided we are in obedience to His will. More often than not negative circumstances have nothing to do with God. We made a foolish decision and are now reaping the consequences of it. Yet through our mistake God is still teaching us.
Also this is not heaven, we live in a fallen world and are subject to the same concerns as others. Markarios best defines a relationship that is granted to me when I surrender my life to Christ. Once done, my relationship to my Father is fixed, it does not lessened because my life is a struggle or because I am having a bad day or some ” tragedy” is affecting my life (our tragedies can often be God’s opportunities, read Roman’s 8). In Duet 28:2 we have a promise.. “And all these blessings shall come upon you if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” I would suggest reading the whole chapter, His promises are very comforting. How because of Christ I can come to the Throne of the Great King. At anytime I have His audience; His scepter is always bent towards me ( read Esther 4:11). He hears me because I have son-ship rights, or daughter ship rights and He will always hear us and do that which is right for us. That alone is to be blessed. Our struggles do not lessen or diminish His blessing in my life. As one young man said to a pastor “God has all of eternity to make it up to me.” Up to this time he had spent more time in the hospital than in his own home. This extremely mature attitude was not gained among the flowers of life, but through the thorns. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17,
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”
There is no one more qualified to make this statement than Paul, aside from the Lord Himself. Pauls eyes were fixed on heaven despite the many great and painful trials he went through. He saw what only eyes of faith can see, and found courage in the memorized Word of God that he had spent his early years studying as a Pharisee.
Once the salmon leave the ocean to begin their migration to their place of birth, their lives become nothing but a struggle. They must swim upstream for miles, jumping over water falls, dodging predators, and ignoring the lures of fishermen. Once they arrive they are worn and beaten but they must finish the course that their Maker gave them. Spawning becomes the the final act of their life as well as their greatest act. So too with us, our struggles and hardships are meant to bring death to our self reliant nature but new life to the man or woman of faith. The hardships teach us that we are limited but that God is unlimited, faithful and deserving of our trust. The struggles teach us to forsake our worldly lures and beloved idols. Prioritizing our walk with Him is the good fruit of these struggles. Even now as I am writing this a struggle exits in me and by my choices I determine who will win. I can chose the flesh and worry and try to control the situation, or I can commit the concern to the Lord and trust Him ( Proverbs 3:5&6). However, I cannot do both. They both cannot coexist. One must be die so that the other can live. It is a process and it is this process that matures us and depending upon who we give our attention to determines how long this process takes until we actually start living out what it means to have His abiding peace. Many victories must be won to gain a sense of freedom from the flesh; it is extremely tenacious, but God is more.
With Israel they wandered 40 years in the wilderness giving attention to their fears, lust and idols. Though they actually saw and experienced God’s great miracles what does the Lord say of them, a generation that should have had enormous faith, Numbers 14:31-33
But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, — them will I bring in, and they shall know — the land which ye have despised.
But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear — your whoredoms, until your carcasses
be wasted in the wilderness. Because of their unfaithfulness this first generation of freed Israel will not see the Promise Land. Also a point that cannot be overlooked – who bore the burden of a faithless generation, the children. A parent who does not live out the truth of faith not only lives with those repercussions but the children do as well. Let this be a very strong warning for those of us who allow the allurements, fears and worries of this world to take captive our faith. Know that you are doing so at the expense and peril of your kids. How much better for our children to have believing parent(s) as their roll model. If you have not been, stop now, repent and allow God to be God. Isaiah 61:3 promises that God is able to restore the years that worry, fear and worldly per suits have taken. It is never too late to repent; if not now, then when? Here’s the promise,
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion ( mourning is a sign of repentance), to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” And in Joel 2:25
And I will restore to you — the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. These insects equaled starvation for man and beast. It was extremely devastating, as years of worry, fear and worldly per suit can be to a family. Yet The Lord promises to restore. The word restore is Salam. “The primary meaning is to be safe or uninjured in mind or body (Job 8:6; 9:4). This word is normally used when God is keeping His people safe. In its simple form, this verb also means to be completed.” And is this not what we all seek, a sense of completion – that all is well with my soul? Maybe in my flesh I struggle, I could be sick, either because of fear and worry or what others have done or because our bodies are flesh, they wear out, but my soul is at peace because I am right with God. There are always struggles in this life, but much better to go through the struggles with God than without. And if repentance is necessary we have a God that is Eleemon – merciful.
Eleemon, has several definitions, “compassionate, b
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Katharos is the word for pure, meaning to be unsoiled, unspoiled, unmixed, or unalloyed. If we make application to ourselves the definition would be to be wholly God’s, unreservedly His, or for God alone. God through the process of sanctification, “be being set apart,” causes this to happen via our trials and hardships as just discussed. Happiness outside of Christ is short lived and the effort to attain it is great and the pay back is based on diminishing return. The flesh and its desires are like a bad investment, you continually need to put more in to get the same return. And it is through this intense struggle that katharos takes place. We no longer seek the governance of the flesh and its failing promises, piece by piece as a complex puzzle each attitude or part of us is being sanctified as we are being fitted and formed into the wholeness of His nature.
Father God,
Your faithfulness is so great, to even get a glimpse of it is sufficient for success in this life. Mold us truly into your sons and daughters, no fear, no worry, only an abiding trust and a passion to know You and love You. Thank you and Amen
Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur