07/25/2023
Am I blessed as Jesus said I would be when He taught the Beatitudes? Do I see them as simple precepts for life, or does their spiritual undercurrent shake me? These very easily followed rules for living can improve the life of an unbeliever, or elevate a person of faith to a dramatically higher spiritual plane.
“"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:3-12 ESV
I don't have to believe in Jesus to have compassion for people, to feed the hungry, or to treat someone mercifully, but when I couple these things with a life of faith and righteousness then suddenly I touch off an explosion which carries my spiritual enlightenment to new heights.
I read Oswald Chambers' devotional on this subject and he wrote of such an explosion which occurs when we mix the Beatitudes with the Holy Spirit as we accept God’s truth in it. Let's read what he had to say...
"We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the dynamite of the Holy Ghost. They explode, as it were, when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of the Beatitudes we say - "What a startling statement that is!" and we have to decide whether we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced..." - Oswald Chambers
Gunpowder is the combination of three simple things... sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). None of these ingredients alone is much to write home about. Charcoal burns slowly and is useful for cooking, sulfur smells horrible but is used in making sulfuric acid, and saltpeter is an ingredient which thickens soups and broths. This is similar to the composition of the Beatitudes when they are taken individually by the unbeliever. They are useful... but they don’t create an explosion, nor do they result in a spiritually life changing event.
However, when a Christian mixes the Beatitudes (charcoal) with a moniker of faith (sulfur) and adds them to the Holy Spirit (saltpeter), then the potential for an explosion of spirituality is eminent. By combining these ingredients we find that our once simple words and deeds have become the spiritual gunpowder that Chambers spoke of.
I love the common name of the oxidizer in gunpowder... saltpeter. It is a combination of the words salt, and Peter. Like most things in life, this causes me to relate them to my faith. I recall the wonderful scripture:
“"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.”
Matthew 5:13 ESV
And the second part of the word "Peter" reminds me of who he is in relation to the church...
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."”
Matthew 16:18-19 ESV
When we consider the Beatitudes, we realize that there is a good feeling that comes from performing each one of these, and that anyone with a touch of compassion and empathy can experience this. But, when a spirit filled man combines these words and actions with his faith, they become blessings beyond his wildest expectation. We, who are the salt of the earth, are suddenly bound in heaven through our performance in faith of these things which Jesus taught.
I go to work every day, and in so doing I earn a living that pays the bills. I am able to feed, clothe, and house, my family by my labor. But when I go to work out of love for them, then suddenly the routine everyday action of work becomes a gift that I present to my wife and children each day... it is a blessing that I am able to bestow on them, and it elevates my routine work to a much higher plane.
The Beatitudes are a lot like that... I can walk by the lady ringing a bell for the Salvation Army outside Walmart on Christmas Eve and drop a quarter in her pot without much thought... but when I pause to realize that in this action I am obeying Jesus, and that my quarter is doing more than making me feel better about passing this woman, then suddenly I receive the larger blessing, and my hand goes back into my pocket and the hungry are fed, and the naked are clothed. Yes, I can do these things that Jesus taught because they are the right thing to do, but when the Holy Spirit steps in, then suddenly I have spiritual gunpowder, and my faith explodes. At that moment I am covered in the blessing Jesus spoke of as He taught.
So, are we combining the three ingredients of spiritual gunpowder in our lives, or just carrying them about as individual bags?
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for the realization of your Word through the Holy Spirit. We thank you for the teachings of Jesus and the faith rendering impact that His words have on us. Holy Father, we thank you for the unbridled blessings that flow from our obedience and our belief in Jesus and you. Merciful Father, you have given each of us a touch of your mercy, compassion, and a desire to know you, but as we seek you with all of our heart these small seeds within us swell and then burst forth into leaf and fruit. Through our relationship with you we are blessed beyond measure, and what started as simple compassion and faith becomes love, and righteousness. We are set aside in our service, and made holy by our desire to go to work each day with a love for you burning within us. When we take the beatitudes that Jesus taught us to heart, combine them with our burgeoning faith, and allow the Holy Spirit to join them together as one spiritually within us, then our belief explodes, and we change the world. Father, in this way we bring you unending glory, and in the midst of our explosion of faith, we praise you all the day long. Praised be your name Father, now and forevermore.
“But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.”
Psalms 71:14-15 ESV
Rich Forbes