A blog post about blessing- but maybe not what you had in mind when coming to read this. Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) with a series of blessings (Matthew 5:3-12). They have been named the Beatitudes. Blessed are you if this is yours or if you come to have this. Accompanied is how to receive that blessing. I believe these are things we need to pay very close attention to. Jesus purposefully reveals them to us. He closes the Sermon on the Mount by saying that if you put into practice “these words of mine”, what he just got through saying, you will be like a wise man that built his house on the rock. Here is how he began “these words of mine”:

You are blessed if the kingdom of heaven is yours.
You are blessed if you are comforted.
You are blessed if you inherit the earth.
You are blessed if you are filled with righteousness.
You are blessed if you are shown mercy.
You are blessed if you see God.
You are blessed if you are called a son of God.
Again, you are blessed if the kingdom of heaven in yours.
You are blessed if great is your reward in heaven. As a matter of fact, you can rejoice and be glad.

When you think of being blessed, do you think of these kind of things? We should. Maybe, just maybe, these are the blessings that are greatest of all. After all, beatitude does mean supreme blessedness. The reason they are called the supreme blessedness throughout church history is because they are the blessings that cause and are the lasting things of all. And how do we receive these blessings?

The kingdom of heaven is yours if you are poor in spirit.
You will be comforted if you mourn.
You will inherit the earth if you are meek.
You will be filled with righteousness if you hunger and thirst after it.
You will be shown mercy if you are merciful.
You will see God if you are pure in heart.
You will be called a son of God if you are a peacemaker.
The kingdom of heaven will be yours if you are persecuted because of righteousness.
Great is your reward in heaven if you are insulted, persecuted, and have false evil things said about you because of Jesus. The same was done to the prophets before you.

Again, how do we receive these blessings? What do these words and phrases mean? That’s found in the searching and the Holy Spirit’s leading. I won’t try to explain them all. But to a point, take them at straight value in what Jesus said, not using the ‘yeah, but’ add ons. Let them mean what they mean.

I want to be blessed, as you do. I want the things that are lasting. I want my house built on the rock. And according to these words of Jesus, I have some things to work on…