The Beatitudes Are “Most Definitely” Attainable
My “Hubby” and I watched a movie called the ” ‘Nun Story”. It was about a woman who became a ‘Nun, and her struggle with perfection to be like Christ, and the rules set before her. In the end, she made the decision to walk away from the choice she had made, to become a ‘Nun, so many years ago in her youth. It was really very sad. Do you ever struggle with perfection? Do you ever struggle with thoughts of thinking you are not a good enough person? I remember before our Grand-son Avery accepted Christ as his Savior, he struggled with perfection. He’s only 9 years old, and he had this notion that he could only be a follower of Christ if he was a better boy, perfect in his behavior and the way he lives his life. Today, Avery is a follower of Christ. He realized that Christ accepts us, NOW. The world would convey to us that the Beatitudes, these Christian principles of Christ-like conduct, are unattainable. Our Father God knows all about us, our struggles and our failures. He knows that these Beatitudes make greater demands on us than is humanly possible. The TRUTH is that He has made a way for us. When He became man (Christ), He made the way for us. He gave us grace, so that we may follow Christ who practiced and preached the Beatitudes. The world would say that these Beatitudes are the opposite of what should make us happy. But Christ says that these Beatitudes will ‘make us fully satisfied’ and bring us great gifts. We only need to believe and make a lifetime commitment to follow and practice Christ-like conduct, with all our hearts.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted”. Matthew 5:4
To mourn is to feel or express grief or sorrow. Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one knows what it is to mourn. When we mourn, we experience all kinds of emotions. My husband and I were in the funeral business for many years. We worked with families who were believers in the hope of Jesus Christ, and those who did not know that hope. Mourning, from the very onset of the loss, is handled differently by those who believe in this hope, and those who do not believe. As Christians, we handle our grief differently because of the circumstances. I remember when my ‘Daddy’ died, I felt like my mourning would never end. I do not know what I would have done without the comfort from my heavenly Father. Over a period of 3 years, my heavenly Father comforted me through the great grief of losing my ‘Daddy’, and the issues that infused my grief. I remember the day I walked into my office and I didn’t burst into tears when I looked at my ‘Daddy’s’ picture. It was a day that I marked as one of my heavenly Father’s victories in my life. I still really miss my ‘Daddy’, but the comfort of my Holy Heavenly Father is always present. I realize there are many different things that can cause mourning in our lives. It could be the loss of someone because of betrayal, or it could even be the loss of some “thing” in our life. We could (and should) be in mourning because of sorrow for our sins or the sins of others. I’m sure you can think of other reasons, for mourning.
“Ultimately, mourning means facing what wounds us in the presence of One who can heal”. Quote by Henri Nouwen
Key #2 to spiritual blessedness is to bring our mourning to the One who can heal. The gift we receive is comfort.
Thought to Ponder: Recall a time(s) that you were comforted by your Heavenly Father. Write it down. It is good to remember what He has done for you, and to thank Him often for His faithfulness in your life.
Scripture to Ponder: Psalms 23:1-6 and 2 Corinthian 1:3-6
Go out often and share the comfort of your Holy Father in heaven. He not only comforts us when we mourn our losses, He comforts and forgives us when we are truly sorrowful for our sins.
This entry was posted on Friday, April 23rd, 2010 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Bible Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
