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The Invitation is Still Good!
From Matthew 5: 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
There should come a time in the life of all people when they realized they're not living life in a way that blesses them or others. The realization is that we are not living life to the fullest, and that abundance thing seems to be missing. It was at this point of Jesus' ministry that He extends an invitation to all to come into a new place, a kingdom place. Hear these words from Jesus' major sermon as invitation and welcome to that kingdom, thus the "¡Bienvenidos!"
Here's what you can expect and receive when you say Yes to enter the kingdom: If you feel spiritual weak or lacking in faith, Jesus says there's more room for God to come in and fill us with His strength. Remember singing, "They are weak, but He is strong?" We're the "we" we were singing about! The second blessing is the blessing of God's embrace when we are grieving or mourning a loss in our lives. Many have been the times I have found myself still crying for my mother who died several years ago; and I can feel God's strong arm allowing that grief but also saying that God is still in control.
Jesus invites us to set aside ego and pride and allow for meekness to be what guides us. Meekness is a sense of humility, not becoming a doormat for others. The true definition of the word Jesus used was to control our anger, not to never be angry. Jesus' understanding is that there is time for righteous anger; meekness which comes through our prayerful relationship with God allows us to know when that time is. When we do that, the earth is ours. Besides controlling our ego and pride we should control our spiritual appetite and seek that which fills our need for righteousness. We know what is right in the sight of God and through God we can have our hunger and thirst for it satisfied. Righteousness is that feeling and security of knowing that we are in the right relationship with God.
In this new kingdom we should control our anger and our desire for revenge. What God offers is for us to be merciful towards others. You know the Forgiveness Math: 70 X 7 (you know, you lose count!) of the sins committed against us. When we show mercy towards others, God shows mercy towards us. And when have we not needed that?
Early in my ministry I taught a Wednesday night Bible study. We would go verse by verse in different books and at one point I shared what came to me about studying the Bible; the Bible is a mirror for our hearts and spirits. Think about that; if the Bible were truly like a mirror and you could hold it up against your heart, what would it show? What's in your heart? Love? Hate? Indifference? Resentment? Jealousy? If anything other than love resides there we have a clogged heart and we need to ask God to remove all blockages so that we can have a pure heart. And with a pure heart we will see God and others will see God in us!
"Oh, I love a good fight!" I've heard many a person say. Most say it in the verbal sense, but some do like a physical fight. Some may say it as observers, but here Jesus says that in the kingdom, our role as people who love and serve the Most High, we should seek to make peace among those fighting. Once we do our title will be children of God. Then Jesus says that we might not have total supporters of our faith and these may look for ways to make us uncomfortable or to feel defeated, but as we strive to serve God and God's kingdom, that kingdom will be ours eternally.
In all things we should have a spirit of joy and gladness in spite of what we face or feel for we are in good company, those very spokesperson of God who lived and still live in the pages of scripture. What better company could we have?
¡Bienvenidos! We've come to the right place. Welcome!
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for inviting me into Your kingdom. Help me to enter in with joy and gladness. May those words shared by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount be a source of encouragement for each day. This I pray in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
