BLESSED BE YOUR NAME... I SURRENDER...

TRANSFORMING THURSDAY

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Yesterday, we began memorizing the first part of Christ's "sermon on the mount". Verse three is considered the first of nine beatitudes (I like to spell it be-attitudes, so you'll probably see me do it both ways throughout this study). These first verses in Matthew 5:1-3, say:

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Now when He saw the crowds,
He went up on a mountainside
and sat down.
His disciples came to Him,
and He began to teach them, saying:
"BLESSED are the POOR IN SPIRIT,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Since that day on the mount, these words have been discussed and interpreted in several ways. Today, let's focus on "BLESSED are the POOR IN SPIRIT".

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In my Tuesday post, I quoted E. Stanley Jones in his book The Christ of the Mount on the word BLESSED. He explained the Greek words for BLESSED. The last of that quote concerning this word said:

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But this happiness is not

dependent on happenings.

Its sources are within.

"Blessed are."

So this note of joy is not a jazz note -

cheap, easy, and surface.

It sounds the depths before it reaches the heights.
But the word BLESSED is more than joyful;

it means literally, "not subject to fate," "deathless".

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More than happiness? Sure! Literally, happiness is based on what is "happening" to us.

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On Tuesday, I did not actually finish the quote from Mr. Jones. Here is the rest of the quote about the word BLESSED:

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It depicts the kind of life that rises above

the fated mechanism of earthly life

into moral and spiritual freedom.

So the two meanings taken together

("not subject to fate" & "deathless")

would give the meaning of BLESSED,

that is,

"to be deathless and happy."

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So this is a higher level than just being happy! BLESSED is a happiness that cannot be squashed by circumstances or ride the tide of feelings. It comes from within... not from my spirit or yours, but from the Spirit of the living God.

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Jesus begins His sermon or discourse with nine explanations, that are brief and to the point about how to live THE BLESSED LIFE. First step? Be POOR IN SPIRIT!

Yet, what does that really mean?

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Over the years, people have taken it in a very literal fashion, putting on sackcloth and ashes... mourning and wailing with a "woe is me" attitude. Last week, on his blog, Tim Pyles wrote that he had recently seen a man walking the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma carrying his cross much like the man in this picture. Is this poor in spirit?

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How about the following pictures? Do any of the three portray being "poor in spirit"?






We live in a world where self esteem, self expression, and self preservation are valued. Jesus understands this as part of the human condition. He came to save us from ourselves and our self centered ways. In fact, in Mark 9, He says that this "self" must be renounced! I'm not sure how politically correct this statement of His is today from verse 43,
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It is better for you to enter life maimed

than with two hands to go into hell,

where the fire never goes out.

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Or how about what Jesus says on down in verse 47?
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And if your eye causes you to sin,

pluck it out.

It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God

with one eye than to have two eyes

and be thrown into hell...

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Is He serious? I think so! We've got to not only change our focus, but change the core of our life. In these two verses, LIFE and THE KINGDOM OF GOD are used synonymously. To give up my life (lower case) for the true LIFE which is eternal (upper case), there needs to be a radical renouncement. According to E. Stanley Jones, Matthew 5:3 could read:

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Deathless and happy

are the renounced in spirit

for theirs is LIFE.

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Is he on target here? I can have a happiness that will not die, if I die to myself. I've thought about this over the years. When things aren't going well for me. I must return to my re-wording of this:
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Eternally joyful

are those who surrender their whole selves to God

for theirs is ETERNAL LIFE.

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Jesus said it pretty clearly - as written by each of the four gospel writers:

• Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
• Mark 8:35-36 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.
• Luke 17:32-34 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
• John 12:24-25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for ETERNAL LIFE.

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ONE TRANSFORMING WORD:

• SURRENDER!

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ONE TRANSFORMING THOUGHT:

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~BLESSED~