Matthew 5
"Blessed." What does it mean to be blessed in the sense of the Beatitudes blessings? Happy? Wealthy? Trouble free? In fact, the blessings Jesus refers to in the fifth chapter of Matthew are none of these. The meek, poor in spirit, merciful and peacemakers will be blessed with a divine peace of mind and spirit. It is a calm confidence that comes from realizing the second half of each beatitude is a guarantee for obedient children of God.
I remember in college I had to take a very rudimentary computer programming language. Remember this was 30 years ago, so most likely this "language" is no longer even used. Part of the class' requirements was to write programs using "basic". One assignment was to use all the specific commands and signs to set up an amortization table for a car loan, including interest paid. I remember little from the course. I do recall "if then" statements. These were statements that told the computer, "if a certain value is present, then take a particular action."
The Beatitudes are a sort of Christian "if then" statements. The blessings promised will not be available until a person adopts the attitude or action that precedes that blessing. We cannot expect God to endow us with the blessings of Christian life if we are not willing to act, think and speak in accordance with His word. Are we earning God's blessings? I think to some extent we are. Salvation is not earned, but the promised blessings are more of the actions we take. Rethink Alert: "Earned" is not the term for which I was searching, but a Christian can place oneself in the position of receiving God's blessings when we are obedient to his Word.
If one wishes for a more blessed 2013, then self-reflection and self-examination may be a good place to begin.
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