July 25: Am I Blessed Like This?

Chambers says, "the Beatitudes contain the dynamite of the Holy Ghost." Let's look at them in their simplicity from the Contempory English Version:

BLESSINGS

God blesses those people who depend only on Him.

....They belong to the kingdom of heaven!

God blesses those people who grieve.

....They will find comfort!

God blesses those people who are humble.

....The earth will belong to them!

God blesses those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink.

....They will be given what they want!

God blesses those people who are merciful.

....They will be treated with mercy!

God blesses those people whose hearts are pure!

....They will see Him!

God blesses those people who make peace.

....They will be called His children!

God blesses those people who are treated badly for doing right.

....They belong to the kingdom of heaven!

I pray that as we read this passage, each verse will become a sleeper waiting for the Holy Spirit's detonation to explode its shrapnel of truth into every part of our being. May we all be brave enough to face the "astonishing discomfort" of looking at life through the eyes of Jesus and be willing to take on "the stern work of a saint."

Then we will be ecstatic to discover yet another paradox: "The Sermon on the Mount is not an [impossible] set of rules and regulations: it is a statement of the life we will live [joyously and of our own free will] when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us."