Matthew 5 : 3 – 12
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 be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kigdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I have ever asked by a friend with a question : “What you are searching for in your life ... ?”. The question that never crossed in my mind before, suddenly came out from a friend of mine. For few moments, I fell into silent and thought, “Well ... What actually I am looking for in my life ? What is the reason of my life ? Why that God puts me in this particular condition ?”. I am the kind of person who believes that God created and put me in this world not merely because of a coincidence, He who created all thing always has great plans for all of His creation includes human, this means you and me are included. But for minutes after hearing the question of my friend, I fell into anxiety, “Why I am here ? Why I live ?” . What about you ? If you are faced to the same question, just like me now, what would be your answer for the question ?
One day, I tried to make my own answer for the question that is : Happiness. “ Yes ... off course, I live in order to get the happiness !”. But, wait a minute, what kind of happiness that I am trying to find ? Isn’t just an egoistic expectation ? Expectation that shows how greedy I am ? An expectation that shows how hard I am on making effort to reach my own interest ? As a matter of fact, if only I have gained the happiness already, what is the reason of my life then ?
Time keeps move, and I am still trying to find the answer of this question, but the harder I am searching, the deeper I realize that I am not living for my own, but for God. “... A classic answer ...” maybe that sentence is passing in your mind ... maybe you think that only a mature christian who will say so. No ... ! – And I am serious – this answer is not only pointed to the mature christian but also for all people who claim with mouth and heart that Jesus Christ is really a God and Saviour, and also has surrendered his/her life to Christ. Didn’t He has given His life to redeem us, His people ? So, it is proper if we also start to give our life to Him, don’t we realize that we were His when we were redeemed by Him. Apostle Paul described this thing clearly when he wrote a letter to the Galatians congregation : “... I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me ... (Galatians 2:20)
And now, after we have became the possessions of God, what kind of things that we can do ?
There is only one answer : Live in Him and only for Him, because you are His, you do not have any right of yourselves when you surrender yourselves to Christ. All thing that you do have to be in line with His will. In other word : “ ... seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these thing will be given to you as well ...” (Matthew 6:33) . When you are searching the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness, you will find what you are looking for in your life, because only in Him we can find our real joy.
Talking about the true happiness, Jesus Christ, when He preached the “sermon on the mount”, He was also speaking about the principal of the beautitudes which is endorsed by God. The beautitudes which have everlasting value. The happiness which can not be replaced by anything, and also the beautitudes that have the opposite standard of “happiness” which is offered by the world. One by one, we will try to see the value of beautitudes in Jesus’ view, and also try to see ourselves honestly, whether the beautitudes are ours or not.
The greek word for the “beatitudes” in Jesus teaching is Makarios. This word is not talking about the feeling of happy that is sensed by someone, but talking about the God’s perception deals to the meaning of happiness for the people. This can be said that the joy in human’s view is different with God’s view. What about you, when you see yourselves, what kind of happiness that you are looking for ?
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Two women in Shanghai, China, oneday were talking about Hudson Taylor, a Missionary who served God in China. These two women were wondering whether Hudson Taylor had ever tempted to boast. One of these two women came and met Mrs, Taylor and asked the question that they have discussed. From the conversation, it was found that Mrs. Taylor did not know the answer, nevertheless she was willing to ask the answer from her husband.
Hudson Taylor when was asked by his wife was surprised and asked a question, “ Boast of what ... ?”
Mrs. Taylor answered, “ Well, about all things that you have done so far ...”
Then, a beautiful and majestic answer was coming out from the mouth of Hudson Taylor, “ I have never known what that I have done so far “
Hudson Taylor was right. This faithful God’s minister never done anything, because God is the One who created and did something through him.
Become poor – if we try to be honest – is not a condition which is dreamt by every human being. Each of us works hard in order to have a proper life, although we can not deny that there are some persons who are still gathering great amount of money for themselves (they want to live abundantly, not properly). But, here Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs the kingdom of heaven. Jesus did not talk about the world wealthiness and poverty, but Jesus talked about our poverty before God. Poor people in every time are people who are identified with powerlessness, identified with the lack of place to depend on beside God, although they realize that they do not deserve to accept God’s compassion.
Jesus said that the blessed one is the poor in spirit. So, how can we be poor in spirit before God ?. To be poor in spirit we have to confess all of our spiritual poverty and powerlessness, even our bankruptcy before God. Because we are all sinners which live under the holy wrath of God, we deserved only to be punished and not to receive his mercy. There are nothing that we can offer, ask or do to buy His acceptance. Because He is holy and we are not. Come to God and confess our spiritual poverty before God is the only way to find the true beatitudes. Do you a person who aware of yourown powerlessness without God, so that you come to God ?
Furthermore, Jesus said that the achievement for the person who poor in spirit is the ownership of the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who aware that they are powerless without God and depend on God, are the people who have a right for the kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom which is owned and ruled by God. Only those who belong to Him who have a right of His possession. The Kingdom of God is given to those who poor, not the rich ; to those who powerless not the powerful ; to the children who depend of his father, not to the soldier who boast that they can conquer the world by swords. If Jesus comes in the second time in all of His glorious, the one who will enter His Kingdom is not the Pharisees who considered that they were rich of good deeds, or zelotist who dreamt of a kingdom which is established by blood and sword, but the tax collectors, whores, the garbage of the society who are so poor, so that they can not give or reach something by their own power, the only thing that they can do is begging the mercy of God.
Too many people who believes that they can do all things by theirown power, and this becomes bold in this era where the individualism control. But the Bible notes that only those who depend on God who will have the work succeed. Let us now see deep inside of us, are we numbered as the person who depend on God ? In our family life, how often we call of God’s name inside ? ; In our job and study, how often we bring our responsibility before God ? ; In our ministry, how often we involve God in doing it ? ; And in all thing we do, do we walk with God ? Become poor before God means humble ourselves and put our hope only on God.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Jim was a barberman in our small village. He, his wife and his three children were our faithful church members.
Not for long after, he was offered a better job in the other city. Before they left our small village, our small congregation held a farewell party for this family. After the party was over we hugged each other with eyes full of tears, because the neighbourhood relationship of our small church was very tight. So, we let them go with prayer and expectation that they will be succed in the new place.
But not for long after, we were surprised mixed with joy when Jim’s family returned to our village. He returned to his previous job as a barberman. We were all wondering, whether he was fired from his new job ? And the answer was not.
Without any guilty feeling in his voice. Jim told us the story : “ Actually my job was fine. My income was also increased fast, but there was something missing in our life. People of the city were too busy looked for money, gambled and drunked, so that they felt that they did not need to build a church. Sunday became a boring day for us. Our children whimped to me to go to the Sunday school. I felt that I can not grow my children in that kind of city, and my wife, Jennie, was also felt the same. So we decided to return to this village and became the member of this church.”
When study about this verse, some theologians considered that the words of this verse against each other. How can it be possibled if someone feels happy when he is in sorrow ?. But Matthew wrote this verse correctly and obviously when he stated what Jesus meant with this mourn.
When someone aware that he can not live without God (poor in spirit), he will be closer to God. And when he is in the closer condition to the Holy God, he will realize that God is Holy and Human is sinner. This will also lead him to realize that he is a sinner and have to mourn because of his sins before God.
When Jesus stated this sentence, actually he reffered to people who was mourning because they have lost their guilty feeling because of their sins, who was mourning because they have lost their righteousness, and who was mourning because they have lost their dignity as the believers. And when they realized their dilapidated, they will have more shympathy to other sinner and world which are also in the same condition with them, which need God. So, the mourning which comes from the believers is the sorrow because of the humans, includes himself, who walk together to the eternal death because of their sins. Those kind of people who mourn, who cry of their sins and evil, will be comforted with the only comfortance which is able to release them from the eternal suffers, that is the forgiveness of God. In the final glorious level the comfortance of Christ will be completed, because right at that time sins will be disappeared and God will wipe their tears.
Have you mourned your sins that you have done ? Have you – in your sorrow – left your sins and got back to God, who waits you in full of hope ?
Look around you : gambling, drunkeness, laziness, adultery, deceitfulness and other various sins start to gnaw on the world. Do you a person who sad because of those condition and mourns before God ? Or are you numbered as the do not care person of those condition ? Or – the saddest part – are you numbered as the person who involve and join to those sins ?
Imagine this nation and world are moving to the destruction, imagine what is going to be happened to our grandchildren who live in the future (if there is future). Sometime I think that the destruction of this nation because of the fault of the believers who reluctant to pray before God for this nation. If only there are believers who are willing to pray and change the society around, I believe there will be recovering in our nation. Because God has promised that every believer who mourns will be comforted in the right time.
Let us now be aware that the beautitudes are coming, when we realize that we need to mourn because of our sins and then mourn because of our society around sins before God.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth
A navy officer tells a marvellous story of how he was helped and saved from shame on his first war.
He was a fourteen navy cadet at that time. The all at once shots of the enemies weapon looked so frightening to him, so that he almost fall into fainted. The navy officer that was his supervisor knew about his condition. With the eyes to the enemies the navy officer said to him in calm and tender words, “ Don’t be afraid my son. You will be more brave after one or two minutes. I was also like you when I went on the first war.”
The young cadet later on said that his supervisor came as an angel who gave strength to him. All of his burden disappeared and since at that time he became a brave soldier just like his supervisor. If the navy officer responded his cadet fearness rudely, the cadet may returned as a loser. Only the great Emphaty which made the young cadet became a winner and a brave soldier in the war.
The word Praus is the genuine word of meek in greek, this word has a meaning which is connected with tender, humble, kind, polite and also consists of the self-control value. The root of meek actually is the honest and sincere assumption of someone who knows the existence of himself. The meek person is the person who really embarrassed and also in the same time enchanted to the goodness, respond and also treatment of God and human to him, eventhough he knows that he does not deserve to accept it. The expression of meek is shown in the attitude of humble and patient to others, because he realizes and admit his self which is not worthy but worthen by God. Becoming meek by admitting ourselves with all of our weakness to others is not easy. Sometime we found that it is easy for us to be honest of ourselves and also confessed that we are sinners before God, but it is difficult for us to allow other people to talk about our guiltiness to us. Everybody would prefer to judge themselves rather than let others to judge them.
Meek is not the same with weak, meek means a great power inside of the tenderness outside. Someone who is able to mourn or sad for the dilapidated society around, will be had more meek heart to the society. Only because of the deep mourn oppression which is able to make someone not only to shymphaty but also emphaty to others. The expression of the shymphaty and emphaty of love, makes somone acts to do something, and not only stands in silence. People who have no God may beat their chest and boast of all their ability, but the true ownership will never be caught by them. In other hand, the meek, although has been setted apart and isolated by human, but because they knew the meaning of live and rule with Christ, they will enjoy and even own the earth which belongs to Christ. And someday in the re-creation of all, they will inherit the new earth and the new heaven together with Christ.
How deep do you realize the existence and the self of yourself, so that you are able to accept yourself and others ? How deep is your concern to the condition of the nation, church and society around so that let you do something ? How deep do you realize that this world needs you to change it, so that you start to change it ?
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
A young pastor went to a big church in a city which has 25.000 members. Soon the church leaders told him that he has to correct the governing system of the city, because the mayor, police officers and council members were so corrupt and made the city dilapidated. After asking for a few moment, the young pastor prayed and asked God’s direction what should he do. And then he made an appointment with the Mayor.
When he met the mayor on the arranged time, he said to the mayor, “ I would like to congratulate you for the honor and responsibility which have given to you when you were elected as a mayor. But, I would also inform you that there is a greater honor that waits you, something bigger rather than this major office.
Because considering that this strange person was going to give the higher political position to him, the mayor listened to him enthusiastically.
“You have to be the minister of Jesus Christ !”, said the young pastor.
With an astonishment face the mayor said to him, “ Nobody ever told me like this before.”
The meeting was over, the mayor went home, but on the coming day the mayor phoned this young pastor, “ Will you come to my office and talk with me ? I have been thinking about what have you said to me, and I have to meet you ?”
Two weeks later, not only the mayor who attended the church of the young pastor, but also the chief of the police department, the chief of the firework department, and five council members. They surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ, because of the good news which was shared by the young pastor. This city was cleaned up from the corruption because the young pastor was willing to be used by Christ to reach them.
Every believer is the people who live by the righteousness and for the righteousness. The reputation of Jesus as the Way of Truth and Life makes every of His follower respects the rightheousness. The hunger and thirst of the righteousness is the special characteristic of the God’s children, which the most ambition is something spiritual and not the material. The hunger and thirst of the righteousnees is not only expressed in the hunger and thirst of the words of God, but also the hunger and thirst to implement the God’s righteousness in the world.
Everyone who are hungry and thirsty of the righteousness has the longing to declare the work of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ to the human being, those are by recovering the broken relations between God and human ; expressing the Christian’s characters and behaviours which is pleasuring God in the middle of the ruined world ; and also to declare the human’s freedom from all persecution in every aspect of life.
Martin Luther when he was faced with the dilapidated world, said : “ Which is needed now is the hunger and thirst of righteousness which can not be held, stopped or disappeared ; a hunger and thirst which refuse and ignore everything except implement and keep what is right, while consider that everything which obstacling this purpose as a trivial matter.”
Our hunger and thirst of the righteousness will never be satisfied as long as we live in this world. It is right that the satisfaction will be given just like what has been promised, but the hunger and thirst will only be satisfied to be relapsed again. Only when we reach the heaven, all of our hunger and thirst will be disappeared at all. Because there, we will get the true righteousness from the main source, that is Jesus Christ.
How about us, what kind of righteousness that we strive for : our own righteousness or God’s righteousness ?
How about the souls who have not known God yet : do we concern of their salvation ?
How about the dilapidated behaviour of the people who claim as believers : do we mourn because of them ?
How about the oppressed people who do not get the protection : street children, vagrants, handicapped. Is it love that we share to them or the ignorance ?
Every believer is the picture of people who care about righteousness, and strive it in the daily life. It is not the description of people who speak only but also act in their life.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy
One day, when LaGuardia, a famous ex mayor of the New york city, led a justice court in police office. The police officer brought one person who has been accused stolen a slice of bread. That man said that his family was starving.
“ Allright then, I have to punish you” said LaGuardia “ Law does not know any exception, and I, whether I like or not, have to punish you by fining you ten dollars.”
Before the thief answered, LaGuardia groped his pocket and said, “ This is ten dollars to pay your fine”. And then, by putting the money to his turn updown side large hat, he said, “Now I am going to fine every person who attend this court, as much as fifty cents each, because they lived in a city where there is a person who stole a bread for eating. Mr. Ballif, collect the fine and give to the accused.
The extra large hat of LaGuardia was passed on. The thief starred at LaGuardia with amazed face. His eyes shine a great gratitude. He left the court hall by bringing forty seven dollars, and fifty cents.
Generosity is estuaried in the two different attitudes, those are loving and forgiving others. These two terms although different each other, but it can not be separated. Person who is merciful will not only expressed his love to the good people who are love him, but also to the people who he does not even know or people who hate him. Merciful person has the motivation to give help to the people who is loved, and also to pass the forgiveness to the people who behave bad and hate him.
Our God is the God who passes His generosity continuously for His people, thus, it is proper if we as the members of His kingdom are also pass the same generosity to other people. How can we claim that we are His children, when we never show our similarity of our Father in our life.
There is no other fact which is able to show that we are forgiven by God beside our willingness to forgive other. In other word, only those who have accepted the mercy of God, who are also able to declare his mercy sincerely to others.
A meek person who admit that he is a sinner will be more merciful to other, because he knows that they are also sinners just like him. When every person has received the sincere love, which is the refraction of God’s love, everyone who shines the love of God will own the world, wherever he/she is, every person will open their hand for him/her.
How about us ? God saves and gives the forgiveness to us not to let us live in cheap and unproper way, but to live responsibly and express God’s merciful. God’s declares His merciful to us so that we learn of how to declare our merciful to others.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
In her book Floods on Dry Ground, Eva Stuart Watt described the task of a missionary in Belgian Congo, as follows : “Even in the society of Gospel enemies, there is a silent admiration for those who have given their life to God. The term Bakrustu ya Kweli, which means “ The true Christian” was often heard from the mouth of those unbelievers. In every corner, Christians were known as the righteousness people who their prayer were always answered.
One day, the highest leader of the african was administering justice of a christian who was accused to have hidden a Mabuduist prisoner. The leader said to the accused, “ Tell me, did you hide the Mabuduist prisoner ?”
“No Sir, I did not hide him”, answered the accused.
With the head to his soldier, the highest leader said to the soldier, “ You were liar ! This man is Bakrustu ya Kweli ! He will never tell a lie !”
In so many perceptions of people, person who is pure in heart is a person who is holy and without flaw before God and human being. This flawless appears from their spiritual side which has sensed the life quality purification from the morales impurity of the world. This quality appears as the opposite of the holiness which is asked ritually. In other word the pure heart does not appear as the result of the religion ritual, but from the life which has been renewed by the power of God.
The sermon on the mount forced every Christ’s followers to show the sincere heart rather than the literal obedience to the law. The pure heart is the person who really work hard to do His will and His righteousness in sincere heart and without compulsion. When someone is agree to do the will of God in sincere heart, automatically all of his life, whether it is personal or impersonal is transparant before God and human. This transparance is the effect of his sincere heart which appears because his heart has been purified by God, he can not pretend in his life because he has sensed the purification.
Jesus promised that only those who pure in heart who will see God, see Him now with the eyes of faith and see His glorious in heaven later. Only those who pure in heart who endures to see all of God’s holiness, which is able to destroy all darkness and evil.
How about us ? Have we shown the honesty which really transparant, nothing that is hiding, so that both God and human can see our true lives wholistically, without counterfeit ?
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God
Two church members quarreled for a trivial problem, this quarrel was getting hot and lit hatred between them.
There was a church member who felt sad with this situation, “ I want to be a peacemaker, and now what can I do to reconciliate both of them ?”, he asked himself.
So, he visited his friend, Brown and asked a question, “ What do you think about Thompson ?”.
“ My opinion about Thompson ?”, said Brown, “ I think he is a shamed man !”
“ But ...”, utter the peacemaker, “ You admit that he is very nice to his family, right ?”
“ Yes, it is right. He is very nice to his family !”.
The day after, the peacemaker visited his friend Thompson.
“ Did you know, what your friend Brown said about you ?”
“ No, but I can imagine that he cursed me with so many bad and dirty words”
“ Well ..”, utter the peacemaker, “ He said that you are very nice to your family”
“ What ...? Did he really say so ?”, yelled Thompson.
“ Yes, and now, what do you think about Brown ?”
“ I think he is scoundrel and very mean”, said Thompson.
“ But...”, utter the peacemaker. “ You admit that he is an honest man, aren’t you ?”
“ Yes .. he is an honest man, but what is the connection ?”
In the morning, the peacemaker visited Brown again and said, “ Did you know that Thompson said to me that you are an honest man ?”
“ Really ?”, said Brown
“ Yes it is, I heard by my own ears !”.
The next Sunday, Brown and Thompson were sitting together in the church and having a beautiful fellowship.
The way of thinking that runs from the pure in heart to the peacemaking is a very natural flow, because the openess and the firm heart is the absolute element in every true reconciliation. The same word which is used in the beautitudes, is also used by the Apostle Paul to show what God has been done through Christ, that is to reconciliate God and human. That is why the special blessing which is given to the peace maker is that, they will be called the children of God, because they have tried to do what the Father has been done, that is loving human with the love from God.
Peace which is tried to be defined here does not have the meaning to calm the conflict, because God’s peace is not the cheap peace. For the reconcilitiation God has sacrificed His one and only Son as the payment. Proclaming the peace but there is no peace, is the work of the fake prophet, not the testimony of the Christians.
Talk about peace, the main God’s mission in this world actually is the mission of reconciliation. I myself has found that every believer in this world is called to implement the work of reconciliation in this world. Four main reconciliation works that God does for the world, which are also should be done by the believers, are : reconciliate human and God through Christ (sharing the Gospel) ; reconciliate human and themselves (building the right self-image in God’s view) ; reconciliate human and other human being (dismishing the adversary among human) ; reconciliate the human and the other God’s creation (implementing the mandate of human as the maintainer and the manager of the earth).
Often in this live, we see ourselves do not play the role as the peacemaker, on the contrary we are the source of the conflict, we make the conflict. Furthermore, we also see that sometime we are not the person who are willing to be reconciliated because of our foolishness. Becoming Christians means bring the image of Christ as the reconciliator in this world.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kigdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
A few years a go, two missionaries entered a small city in Poland. There were no Jews who were willing to hear them. Finally, they sent a challenge to a Jews Rabbi to have a public debate, whether Jesus is really Christ.
For three days the sinagoge was fulled of mass who want to see the debate. The end of the debate was very tragic, both of the missionaries were evicted, spittled, bitten almost to death. The Jews Rabbi got the applause for his won.
On the next sabath, the Rabbi can not hold a devotion. On the next week sabath, the same Rabbi was also can not attend the devotion, he was replaced by a replacement preacher. Then, an announcement was read that the Rabbi wanted to meet with all the members of the sinagoge on the third sabath.
On the third sabath, the Rabbi was going out with a pale face. Everyone held their breath when the Rabbi who looked very ill said, “ Brother and sisters, I am sure that you knew already about the debate that I have with the two missionaries. I am glad that you were considered me as the winner of the debate. Now, I am going to meet the Judge of all judges, I have to tell you something and I will accept all the consequences of my confession. Actually, I am the one who lose on the debate. Now, I am standing here to say that Jesus from Nazareth is Messiah who was declared by Moses and the Pentateuch Law.”
Does not matter how hard we try to hold the reconciliation with particular persons, but often they kept reject to live in peace with us. Not all of the reconciliation effort that we did was succeed. Even in reality, so many people who try to reconciliate others sensed the persecution from the people who refuse to be reconciliated.
Countless number of the churches and the place of the believers’ gathering which have been destroyed. Countless the number of martyrs who have been persecuted and died for Jesus. Neverthless, the reaction that is expected by Jesus when we sensed the persecution is rejoice. We are not allowed to take revenge, such as considered usual by the general people, or sulk like kids or with the sense of self-pity licked our wound like a dog, or smiled without care, or pretend that we enjoy the persecution like a machocist.
Jesus promised a great gift in heaven for the persecuted people because of Jesus’ name, we may lost everything in this world but we will inherit everything in heaven with God. Nevertheless the reason why that we have to rejoice in suffer is that, we have suffer just like Jesus did in order to fulfil His Father’s will.
John RW. Stott in his book “ Sermon on the Mount” beautifully summarized the beautitudes of Jesus in this words :
The beautitudes described the complete potrait of the Christ’s disciples. First, we see him bow alone in his kness before God to confess and mourn his spiritual bankruptcy, this make him become more meek in every relations with others, because the honesty forced him to let others think about him before God. But he does not stay silent on his bankruptcy, because he is hunger and thirst of the righteousness and longing to grow in grace and virtue.
Then, we see him with the other people in the middle of human society. His relation with God does not make him become a loner or isolated from the sorrow of the world. On the contrary, he stands in the middle, spills his merciful to them who destroyed by the evil of the world and sins. His steady heart is read by all people through all his behaviour, and he tries to play his role as the peacemaker. But the as the opposite of thanking for his effort, people hate, accuse, insult and hunt him because of the righteousnees that he defends and Christ that he tries to be like.
When we aware that the true beautitudes is only in God, and that joy only can be happened by doing His will, what else that we want to look for ?
I dream that the church in this world will make evangelists and people who will change the world. This world needs more Paul who reached so many people for God, and this world also needs Daniel who were able to change the nation by his thought and faith. And you are the Paul and the Daniel who will change the world. The destiny of this nation, the destiny of this church even the destiny of this world in the future depend on you. Are you willing to change yourself and then change the world ? Or just silent and do nothing. It is the time for the church to declare his prophecy voice in the middle of this world. It is the time where the name of God is counted by the world. And it is the time for you to realize the meaning of your life that is to bring the glory for God’s name. Amen. (suko – 18/12/2004) SkD
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 be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kigdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I have ever asked by a friend with a question : “What you are searching for in your life ... ?”. The question that never crossed in my mind before, suddenly came out from a friend of mine. For few moments, I fell into silent and thought, “Well ... What actually I am looking for in my life ? What is the reason of my life ? Why that God puts me in this particular condition ?”. I am the kind of person who believes that God created and put me in this world not merely because of a coincidence, He who created all thing always has great plans for all of His creation includes human, this means you and me are included. But for minutes after hearing the question of my friend, I fell into anxiety, “Why I am here ? Why I live ?” . What about you ? If you are faced to the same question, just like me now, what would be your answer for the question ?
One day, I tried to make my own answer for the question that is : Happiness. “ Yes ... off course, I live in order to get the happiness !”. But, wait a minute, what kind of happiness that I am trying to find ? Isn’t just an egoistic expectation ? Expectation that shows how greedy I am ? An expectation that shows how hard I am on making effort to reach my own interest ? As a matter of fact, if only I have gained the happiness already, what is the reason of my life then ?
Time keeps move, and I am still trying to find the answer of this question, but the harder I am searching, the deeper I realize that I am not living for my own, but for God. “... A classic answer ...” maybe that sentence is passing in your mind ... maybe you think that only a mature christian who will say so. No ... ! – And I am serious – this answer is not only pointed to the mature christian but also for all people who claim with mouth and heart that Jesus Christ is really a God and Saviour, and also has surrendered his/her life to Christ. Didn’t He has given His life to redeem us, His people ? So, it is proper if we also start to give our life to Him, don’t we realize that we were His when we were redeemed by Him. Apostle Paul described this thing clearly when he wrote a letter to the Galatians congregation : “... I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me ... (Galatians 2:20)
And now, after we have became the possessions of God, what kind of things that we can do ?
There is only one answer : Live in Him and only for Him, because you are His, you do not have any right of yourselves when you surrender yourselves to Christ. All thing that you do have to be in line with His will. In other word : “ ... seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these thing will be given to you as well ...” (Matthew 6:33) . When you are searching the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness, you will find what you are looking for in your life, because only in Him we can find our real joy.
Talking about the true happiness, Jesus Christ, when He preached the “sermon on the mount”, He was also speaking about the principal of the beautitudes which is endorsed by God. The beautitudes which have everlasting value. The happiness which can not be replaced by anything, and also the beautitudes that have the opposite standard of “happiness” which is offered by the world. One by one, we will try to see the value of beautitudes in Jesus’ view, and also try to see ourselves honestly, whether the beautitudes are ours or not.
The greek word for the “beatitudes” in Jesus teaching is Makarios. This word is not talking about the feeling of happy that is sensed by someone, but talking about the God’s perception deals to the meaning of happiness for the people. This can be said that the joy in human’s view is different with God’s view. What about you, when you see yourselves, what kind of happiness that you are looking for ?
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Two women in Shanghai, China, oneday were talking about Hudson Taylor, a Missionary who served God in China. These two women were wondering whether Hudson Taylor had ever tempted to boast. One of these two women came and met Mrs, Taylor and asked the question that they have discussed. From the conversation, it was found that Mrs. Taylor did not know the answer, nevertheless she was willing to ask the answer from her husband.
Hudson Taylor when was asked by his wife was surprised and asked a question, “ Boast of what ... ?”
Mrs. Taylor answered, “ Well, about all things that you have done so far ...”
Then, a beautiful and majestic answer was coming out from the mouth of Hudson Taylor, “ I have never known what that I have done so far “
Hudson Taylor was right. This faithful God’s minister never done anything, because God is the One who created and did something through him.
Become poor – if we try to be honest – is not a condition which is dreamt by every human being. Each of us works hard in order to have a proper life, although we can not deny that there are some persons who are still gathering great amount of money for themselves (they want to live abundantly, not properly). But, here Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs the kingdom of heaven. Jesus did not talk about the world wealthiness and poverty, but Jesus talked about our poverty before God. Poor people in every time are people who are identified with powerlessness, identified with the lack of place to depend on beside God, although they realize that they do not deserve to accept God’s compassion.
Jesus said that the blessed one is the poor in spirit. So, how can we be poor in spirit before God ?. To be poor in spirit we have to confess all of our spiritual poverty and powerlessness, even our bankruptcy before God. Because we are all sinners which live under the holy wrath of God, we deserved only to be punished and not to receive his mercy. There are nothing that we can offer, ask or do to buy His acceptance. Because He is holy and we are not. Come to God and confess our spiritual poverty before God is the only way to find the true beatitudes. Do you a person who aware of yourown powerlessness without God, so that you come to God ?
Furthermore, Jesus said that the achievement for the person who poor in spirit is the ownership of the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who aware that they are powerless without God and depend on God, are the people who have a right for the kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom which is owned and ruled by God. Only those who belong to Him who have a right of His possession. The Kingdom of God is given to those who poor, not the rich ; to those who powerless not the powerful ; to the children who depend of his father, not to the soldier who boast that they can conquer the world by swords. If Jesus comes in the second time in all of His glorious, the one who will enter His Kingdom is not the Pharisees who considered that they were rich of good deeds, or zelotist who dreamt of a kingdom which is established by blood and sword, but the tax collectors, whores, the garbage of the society who are so poor, so that they can not give or reach something by their own power, the only thing that they can do is begging the mercy of God.
Too many people who believes that they can do all things by theirown power, and this becomes bold in this era where the individualism control. But the Bible notes that only those who depend on God who will have the work succeed. Let us now see deep inside of us, are we numbered as the person who depend on God ? In our family life, how often we call of God’s name inside ? ; In our job and study, how often we bring our responsibility before God ? ; In our ministry, how often we involve God in doing it ? ; And in all thing we do, do we walk with God ? Become poor before God means humble ourselves and put our hope only on God.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted
Jim was a barberman in our small village. He, his wife and his three children were our faithful church members.
Not for long after, he was offered a better job in the other city. Before they left our small village, our small congregation held a farewell party for this family. After the party was over we hugged each other with eyes full of tears, because the neighbourhood relationship of our small church was very tight. So, we let them go with prayer and expectation that they will be succed in the new place.
But not for long after, we were surprised mixed with joy when Jim’s family returned to our village. He returned to his previous job as a barberman. We were all wondering, whether he was fired from his new job ? And the answer was not.
Without any guilty feeling in his voice. Jim told us the story : “ Actually my job was fine. My income was also increased fast, but there was something missing in our life. People of the city were too busy looked for money, gambled and drunked, so that they felt that they did not need to build a church. Sunday became a boring day for us. Our children whimped to me to go to the Sunday school. I felt that I can not grow my children in that kind of city, and my wife, Jennie, was also felt the same. So we decided to return to this village and became the member of this church.”
When study about this verse, some theologians considered that the words of this verse against each other. How can it be possibled if someone feels happy when he is in sorrow ?. But Matthew wrote this verse correctly and obviously when he stated what Jesus meant with this mourn.
When someone aware that he can not live without God (poor in spirit), he will be closer to God. And when he is in the closer condition to the Holy God, he will realize that God is Holy and Human is sinner. This will also lead him to realize that he is a sinner and have to mourn because of his sins before God.
When Jesus stated this sentence, actually he reffered to people who was mourning because they have lost their guilty feeling because of their sins, who was mourning because they have lost their righteousness, and who was mourning because they have lost their dignity as the believers. And when they realized their dilapidated, they will have more shympathy to other sinner and world which are also in the same condition with them, which need God. So, the mourning which comes from the believers is the sorrow because of the humans, includes himself, who walk together to the eternal death because of their sins. Those kind of people who mourn, who cry of their sins and evil, will be comforted with the only comfortance which is able to release them from the eternal suffers, that is the forgiveness of God. In the final glorious level the comfortance of Christ will be completed, because right at that time sins will be disappeared and God will wipe their tears.
Have you mourned your sins that you have done ? Have you – in your sorrow – left your sins and got back to God, who waits you in full of hope ?
Look around you : gambling, drunkeness, laziness, adultery, deceitfulness and other various sins start to gnaw on the world. Do you a person who sad because of those condition and mourns before God ? Or are you numbered as the do not care person of those condition ? Or – the saddest part – are you numbered as the person who involve and join to those sins ?
Imagine this nation and world are moving to the destruction, imagine what is going to be happened to our grandchildren who live in the future (if there is future). Sometime I think that the destruction of this nation because of the fault of the believers who reluctant to pray before God for this nation. If only there are believers who are willing to pray and change the society around, I believe there will be recovering in our nation. Because God has promised that every believer who mourns will be comforted in the right time.
Let us now be aware that the beautitudes are coming, when we realize that we need to mourn because of our sins and then mourn because of our society around sins before God.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth
A navy officer tells a marvellous story of how he was helped and saved from shame on his first war.
He was a fourteen navy cadet at that time. The all at once shots of the enemies weapon looked so frightening to him, so that he almost fall into fainted. The navy officer that was his supervisor knew about his condition. With the eyes to the enemies the navy officer said to him in calm and tender words, “ Don’t be afraid my son. You will be more brave after one or two minutes. I was also like you when I went on the first war.”
The young cadet later on said that his supervisor came as an angel who gave strength to him. All of his burden disappeared and since at that time he became a brave soldier just like his supervisor. If the navy officer responded his cadet fearness rudely, the cadet may returned as a loser. Only the great Emphaty which made the young cadet became a winner and a brave soldier in the war.
The word Praus is the genuine word of meek in greek, this word has a meaning which is connected with tender, humble, kind, polite and also consists of the self-control value. The root of meek actually is the honest and sincere assumption of someone who knows the existence of himself. The meek person is the person who really embarrassed and also in the same time enchanted to the goodness, respond and also treatment of God and human to him, eventhough he knows that he does not deserve to accept it. The expression of meek is shown in the attitude of humble and patient to others, because he realizes and admit his self which is not worthy but worthen by God. Becoming meek by admitting ourselves with all of our weakness to others is not easy. Sometime we found that it is easy for us to be honest of ourselves and also confessed that we are sinners before God, but it is difficult for us to allow other people to talk about our guiltiness to us. Everybody would prefer to judge themselves rather than let others to judge them.
Meek is not the same with weak, meek means a great power inside of the tenderness outside. Someone who is able to mourn or sad for the dilapidated society around, will be had more meek heart to the society. Only because of the deep mourn oppression which is able to make someone not only to shymphaty but also emphaty to others. The expression of the shymphaty and emphaty of love, makes somone acts to do something, and not only stands in silence. People who have no God may beat their chest and boast of all their ability, but the true ownership will never be caught by them. In other hand, the meek, although has been setted apart and isolated by human, but because they knew the meaning of live and rule with Christ, they will enjoy and even own the earth which belongs to Christ. And someday in the re-creation of all, they will inherit the new earth and the new heaven together with Christ.
How deep do you realize the existence and the self of yourself, so that you are able to accept yourself and others ? How deep is your concern to the condition of the nation, church and society around so that let you do something ? How deep do you realize that this world needs you to change it, so that you start to change it ?
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
A young pastor went to a big church in a city which has 25.000 members. Soon the church leaders told him that he has to correct the governing system of the city, because the mayor, police officers and council members were so corrupt and made the city dilapidated. After asking for a few moment, the young pastor prayed and asked God’s direction what should he do. And then he made an appointment with the Mayor.
When he met the mayor on the arranged time, he said to the mayor, “ I would like to congratulate you for the honor and responsibility which have given to you when you were elected as a mayor. But, I would also inform you that there is a greater honor that waits you, something bigger rather than this major office.
Because considering that this strange person was going to give the higher political position to him, the mayor listened to him enthusiastically.
“You have to be the minister of Jesus Christ !”, said the young pastor.
With an astonishment face the mayor said to him, “ Nobody ever told me like this before.”
The meeting was over, the mayor went home, but on the coming day the mayor phoned this young pastor, “ Will you come to my office and talk with me ? I have been thinking about what have you said to me, and I have to meet you ?”
Two weeks later, not only the mayor who attended the church of the young pastor, but also the chief of the police department, the chief of the firework department, and five council members. They surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ, because of the good news which was shared by the young pastor. This city was cleaned up from the corruption because the young pastor was willing to be used by Christ to reach them.
Every believer is the people who live by the righteousness and for the righteousness. The reputation of Jesus as the Way of Truth and Life makes every of His follower respects the rightheousness. The hunger and thirst of the righteousness is the special characteristic of the God’s children, which the most ambition is something spiritual and not the material. The hunger and thirst of the righteousnees is not only expressed in the hunger and thirst of the words of God, but also the hunger and thirst to implement the God’s righteousness in the world.
Everyone who are hungry and thirsty of the righteousness has the longing to declare the work of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ to the human being, those are by recovering the broken relations between God and human ; expressing the Christian’s characters and behaviours which is pleasuring God in the middle of the ruined world ; and also to declare the human’s freedom from all persecution in every aspect of life.
Martin Luther when he was faced with the dilapidated world, said : “ Which is needed now is the hunger and thirst of righteousness which can not be held, stopped or disappeared ; a hunger and thirst which refuse and ignore everything except implement and keep what is right, while consider that everything which obstacling this purpose as a trivial matter.”
Our hunger and thirst of the righteousness will never be satisfied as long as we live in this world. It is right that the satisfaction will be given just like what has been promised, but the hunger and thirst will only be satisfied to be relapsed again. Only when we reach the heaven, all of our hunger and thirst will be disappeared at all. Because there, we will get the true righteousness from the main source, that is Jesus Christ.
How about us, what kind of righteousness that we strive for : our own righteousness or God’s righteousness ?
How about the souls who have not known God yet : do we concern of their salvation ?
How about the dilapidated behaviour of the people who claim as believers : do we mourn because of them ?
How about the oppressed people who do not get the protection : street children, vagrants, handicapped. Is it love that we share to them or the ignorance ?
Every believer is the picture of people who care about righteousness, and strive it in the daily life. It is not the description of people who speak only but also act in their life.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy
One day, when LaGuardia, a famous ex mayor of the New york city, led a justice court in police office. The police officer brought one person who has been accused stolen a slice of bread. That man said that his family was starving.
“ Allright then, I have to punish you” said LaGuardia “ Law does not know any exception, and I, whether I like or not, have to punish you by fining you ten dollars.”
Before the thief answered, LaGuardia groped his pocket and said, “ This is ten dollars to pay your fine”. And then, by putting the money to his turn updown side large hat, he said, “Now I am going to fine every person who attend this court, as much as fifty cents each, because they lived in a city where there is a person who stole a bread for eating. Mr. Ballif, collect the fine and give to the accused.
The extra large hat of LaGuardia was passed on. The thief starred at LaGuardia with amazed face. His eyes shine a great gratitude. He left the court hall by bringing forty seven dollars, and fifty cents.
Generosity is estuaried in the two different attitudes, those are loving and forgiving others. These two terms although different each other, but it can not be separated. Person who is merciful will not only expressed his love to the good people who are love him, but also to the people who he does not even know or people who hate him. Merciful person has the motivation to give help to the people who is loved, and also to pass the forgiveness to the people who behave bad and hate him.
Our God is the God who passes His generosity continuously for His people, thus, it is proper if we as the members of His kingdom are also pass the same generosity to other people. How can we claim that we are His children, when we never show our similarity of our Father in our life.
There is no other fact which is able to show that we are forgiven by God beside our willingness to forgive other. In other word, only those who have accepted the mercy of God, who are also able to declare his mercy sincerely to others.
A meek person who admit that he is a sinner will be more merciful to other, because he knows that they are also sinners just like him. When every person has received the sincere love, which is the refraction of God’s love, everyone who shines the love of God will own the world, wherever he/she is, every person will open their hand for him/her.
How about us ? God saves and gives the forgiveness to us not to let us live in cheap and unproper way, but to live responsibly and express God’s merciful. God’s declares His merciful to us so that we learn of how to declare our merciful to others.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
In her book Floods on Dry Ground, Eva Stuart Watt described the task of a missionary in Belgian Congo, as follows : “Even in the society of Gospel enemies, there is a silent admiration for those who have given their life to God. The term Bakrustu ya Kweli, which means “ The true Christian” was often heard from the mouth of those unbelievers. In every corner, Christians were known as the righteousness people who their prayer were always answered.
One day, the highest leader of the african was administering justice of a christian who was accused to have hidden a Mabuduist prisoner. The leader said to the accused, “ Tell me, did you hide the Mabuduist prisoner ?”
“No Sir, I did not hide him”, answered the accused.
With the head to his soldier, the highest leader said to the soldier, “ You were liar ! This man is Bakrustu ya Kweli ! He will never tell a lie !”
In so many perceptions of people, person who is pure in heart is a person who is holy and without flaw before God and human being. This flawless appears from their spiritual side which has sensed the life quality purification from the morales impurity of the world. This quality appears as the opposite of the holiness which is asked ritually. In other word the pure heart does not appear as the result of the religion ritual, but from the life which has been renewed by the power of God.
The sermon on the mount forced every Christ’s followers to show the sincere heart rather than the literal obedience to the law. The pure heart is the person who really work hard to do His will and His righteousness in sincere heart and without compulsion. When someone is agree to do the will of God in sincere heart, automatically all of his life, whether it is personal or impersonal is transparant before God and human. This transparance is the effect of his sincere heart which appears because his heart has been purified by God, he can not pretend in his life because he has sensed the purification.
Jesus promised that only those who pure in heart who will see God, see Him now with the eyes of faith and see His glorious in heaven later. Only those who pure in heart who endures to see all of God’s holiness, which is able to destroy all darkness and evil.
How about us ? Have we shown the honesty which really transparant, nothing that is hiding, so that both God and human can see our true lives wholistically, without counterfeit ?
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God
Two church members quarreled for a trivial problem, this quarrel was getting hot and lit hatred between them.
There was a church member who felt sad with this situation, “ I want to be a peacemaker, and now what can I do to reconciliate both of them ?”, he asked himself.
So, he visited his friend, Brown and asked a question, “ What do you think about Thompson ?”.
“ My opinion about Thompson ?”, said Brown, “ I think he is a shamed man !”
“ But ...”, utter the peacemaker, “ You admit that he is very nice to his family, right ?”
“ Yes, it is right. He is very nice to his family !”.
The day after, the peacemaker visited his friend Thompson.
“ Did you know, what your friend Brown said about you ?”
“ No, but I can imagine that he cursed me with so many bad and dirty words”
“ Well ..”, utter the peacemaker, “ He said that you are very nice to your family”
“ What ...? Did he really say so ?”, yelled Thompson.
“ Yes, and now, what do you think about Brown ?”
“ I think he is scoundrel and very mean”, said Thompson.
“ But...”, utter the peacemaker. “ You admit that he is an honest man, aren’t you ?”
“ Yes .. he is an honest man, but what is the connection ?”
In the morning, the peacemaker visited Brown again and said, “ Did you know that Thompson said to me that you are an honest man ?”
“ Really ?”, said Brown
“ Yes it is, I heard by my own ears !”.
The next Sunday, Brown and Thompson were sitting together in the church and having a beautiful fellowship.
The way of thinking that runs from the pure in heart to the peacemaking is a very natural flow, because the openess and the firm heart is the absolute element in every true reconciliation. The same word which is used in the beautitudes, is also used by the Apostle Paul to show what God has been done through Christ, that is to reconciliate God and human. That is why the special blessing which is given to the peace maker is that, they will be called the children of God, because they have tried to do what the Father has been done, that is loving human with the love from God.
Peace which is tried to be defined here does not have the meaning to calm the conflict, because God’s peace is not the cheap peace. For the reconcilitiation God has sacrificed His one and only Son as the payment. Proclaming the peace but there is no peace, is the work of the fake prophet, not the testimony of the Christians.
Talk about peace, the main God’s mission in this world actually is the mission of reconciliation. I myself has found that every believer in this world is called to implement the work of reconciliation in this world. Four main reconciliation works that God does for the world, which are also should be done by the believers, are : reconciliate human and God through Christ (sharing the Gospel) ; reconciliate human and themselves (building the right self-image in God’s view) ; reconciliate human and other human being (dismishing the adversary among human) ; reconciliate the human and the other God’s creation (implementing the mandate of human as the maintainer and the manager of the earth).
Often in this live, we see ourselves do not play the role as the peacemaker, on the contrary we are the source of the conflict, we make the conflict. Furthermore, we also see that sometime we are not the person who are willing to be reconciliated because of our foolishness. Becoming Christians means bring the image of Christ as the reconciliator in this world.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kigdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
A few years a go, two missionaries entered a small city in Poland. There were no Jews who were willing to hear them. Finally, they sent a challenge to a Jews Rabbi to have a public debate, whether Jesus is really Christ.
For three days the sinagoge was fulled of mass who want to see the debate. The end of the debate was very tragic, both of the missionaries were evicted, spittled, bitten almost to death. The Jews Rabbi got the applause for his won.
On the next sabath, the Rabbi can not hold a devotion. On the next week sabath, the same Rabbi was also can not attend the devotion, he was replaced by a replacement preacher. Then, an announcement was read that the Rabbi wanted to meet with all the members of the sinagoge on the third sabath.
On the third sabath, the Rabbi was going out with a pale face. Everyone held their breath when the Rabbi who looked very ill said, “ Brother and sisters, I am sure that you knew already about the debate that I have with the two missionaries. I am glad that you were considered me as the winner of the debate. Now, I am going to meet the Judge of all judges, I have to tell you something and I will accept all the consequences of my confession. Actually, I am the one who lose on the debate. Now, I am standing here to say that Jesus from Nazareth is Messiah who was declared by Moses and the Pentateuch Law.”
Does not matter how hard we try to hold the reconciliation with particular persons, but often they kept reject to live in peace with us. Not all of the reconciliation effort that we did was succeed. Even in reality, so many people who try to reconciliate others sensed the persecution from the people who refuse to be reconciliated.
Countless number of the churches and the place of the believers’ gathering which have been destroyed. Countless the number of martyrs who have been persecuted and died for Jesus. Neverthless, the reaction that is expected by Jesus when we sensed the persecution is rejoice. We are not allowed to take revenge, such as considered usual by the general people, or sulk like kids or with the sense of self-pity licked our wound like a dog, or smiled without care, or pretend that we enjoy the persecution like a machocist.
Jesus promised a great gift in heaven for the persecuted people because of Jesus’ name, we may lost everything in this world but we will inherit everything in heaven with God. Nevertheless the reason why that we have to rejoice in suffer is that, we have suffer just like Jesus did in order to fulfil His Father’s will.
John RW. Stott in his book “ Sermon on the Mount” beautifully summarized the beautitudes of Jesus in this words :
The beautitudes described the complete potrait of the Christ’s disciples. First, we see him bow alone in his kness before God to confess and mourn his spiritual bankruptcy, this make him become more meek in every relations with others, because the honesty forced him to let others think about him before God. But he does not stay silent on his bankruptcy, because he is hunger and thirst of the righteousness and longing to grow in grace and virtue.
Then, we see him with the other people in the middle of human society. His relation with God does not make him become a loner or isolated from the sorrow of the world. On the contrary, he stands in the middle, spills his merciful to them who destroyed by the evil of the world and sins. His steady heart is read by all people through all his behaviour, and he tries to play his role as the peacemaker. But the as the opposite of thanking for his effort, people hate, accuse, insult and hunt him because of the righteousnees that he defends and Christ that he tries to be like.
When we aware that the true beautitudes is only in God, and that joy only can be happened by doing His will, what else that we want to look for ?
I dream that the church in this world will make evangelists and people who will change the world. This world needs more Paul who reached so many people for God, and this world also needs Daniel who were able to change the nation by his thought and faith. And you are the Paul and the Daniel who will change the world. The destiny of this nation, the destiny of this church even the destiny of this world in the future depend on you. Are you willing to change yourself and then change the world ? Or just silent and do nothing. It is the time for the church to declare his prophecy voice in the middle of this world. It is the time where the name of God is counted by the world. And it is the time for you to realize the meaning of your life that is to bring the glory for God’s name. Amen. (suko – 18/12/2004) SkD
