Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
To be poor in spirit is to humble ourselves before God. We are all helpless, hopeless sinners. Everyone who enters the kingdom of Heaven must be spiritually poor for salvation is a gift from God. We must humble ourselves before God. Those who have humbled themselves and become dependent on God will inherit the kingdom of Heaven. This calls for us to acknowledge our sins and repent of our sins. Knowing that we bring nothing of our own power, possessions or merit. We acknowledge this and turn from sin, humbling ourselves. In this we find Heavenly bliss here on Earth and inherit the kingdom after death.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Acknowledging our sins causes us to mourn a sadness. Also death of a loved one causes mourning. If we mourn over sin this is a clear sign of faith in the Savior. Grieving is for a world that is lost and ruined. Knowing that death does not have final victory is having faith in Christ and believing Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected and one day we too will rise with Him. Having this hope brings comfort. As we face sadness in life we can do so with hope. Hope for the new life God has to offer where all of our tears will be wiped clean.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth.
Being meek is the spirit of gentleness and self control. Meekness, gentleness and goodness are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. They are produced in the Christian by the Holy Spirit. So the direction we should follow to cultivate the spirit of meekness would be to walk with the Spirit and be controlled by the Spirit of God so that the qualities of Christ can be produced in and through us. We are promised a second coming of the Messiah and a new Heaven and Earth. It will be possessed by the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
We must put our lives in God's hands and hunger and thirst for it. The desire to do righteous works comes with the finding of the Holy Spirit and becoming more like Christ. When the Lord returns and establishes righteousness, we will be changed and glorified. We must show commitment to God's will to be guided by the Holy Spirit to the road of righteousness.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
When we realize that God has shown us mercy many, many times we know that we need His help to go on. When we receive this gracious gift of mercy we in turn show mercy to others. We learn to forgive others as God has forgiven us. We want to have compassion and suffering of those in need. This also seems to describe the coming of the Lord and judgement day where by His mercy Christians will be welcomed into the kingdom of Heaven. If we are in a constant state of asking for forgiveness and giving thanks to God we will then have a good understanding of the grace of God.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
To be pure in the heart we must look at the decisions we make, the desires we have, thoughts and intentions we have and the will to please God. We can be born again and change our heart. Walking in the light and living by the Word of God changes the way we think and makes our heart more pure. And as we stumble and the light shows us imperfections we deal with them and change yet again. We may do this over and over again throughout our lives but each time we are learning a new lesson and seeing a new light.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The ultimate goal is to bring peace to the whole world. Only God can provide true peace to the world but it begins with reconciliation with God and then extends to others. If we declare the kingdom of God we are declaring peace. Therefore, we must spread the Word of God to spread peace and become a peacemaker. But i think it is more important to find this spiritually first within ourselves. We are the children of God and therefore will be called the sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
We face persecutions every day as a Christian and we must turn away from power and possessions and fight a harder battle of doing what is right. We oppose conflicts everyday in what we believe but we must continue in the faith of what we believe. We must live for Christ. Our reward will be great.
If we learn to develop these characteristics of the Beatitudes throughout our lives we will open a world of happiness here on Earth as we walk with God and be shown the joy and complete satisfaction of our promise in Heaven. Thanks for taking the time to read. I didn't realize this would be so long...God is great! What a beautiful Sunday, I give thanks to the Lord!
