Terminology crisis alert! The word 'saved' is used by many Christians to describe how we become followers of Jesus. It has some complexities to it that are well worth looking into. Today however I wanted to describe something that will become evidence that you are.. ahem... saved. Many report a strange interest in God's word, a deep conviction of sin. Some a renewed appreciation of creation or a laying down of the will to make 'self' king of everything. These are all valid experiences but it all comes from a scriptural process of what is really happening.
We call them the 'beatitudes' and they are at the beginning of Matthew 5. Jesus was speaking to a people to whom the commandments had become a stick to be beaten with. Instead of the Law being a list of boundaries in which to live a blessed life, they had become a threat to the people at the hands of Men. So along comes Jesus and relays the 'blessed are...' statements. At the end of the whole discourse people were astonished and amazed. Some have argued from the Greek word for 'astonished' that it can read they were 'exceedingly and abundantly flattened out.'
Once I was at a chiropractor in Leeds in the UK. I had problems with the lower back for years and had MRI's etc. So we had recommended a guy called Martin who it turns out was from South Africa. I had an initial assessment where he did an experiment to demonstrate how my hips are twisted thus causing a leg to be a little shorter than the other. This led to issues with walking, sciatica... I'm sure you don't want a run down of my medical exam. Long story short, he suspected this was the issue and proved to me with a wedge under my right foot. It solved the problem! For so long I had wondered what was wrong, obviously being male suspecting the very worst diagnosis but Martin nailed it and showed me he had indeed nailed it. It was simply a case of periodic treatment to realign my hips and tie my legs in knots for a couple of minutes. I was amazed and relieved and not a little in awe of his ability and professionalism. I sat dazed for a few moments as he filled some notes in as if I was lighter than air, all the weights, frustration and turmoil gone! When he demonstrated what was happening I nearly fell over! I can only imaging this is a fraction of the way Jesus' audience felt as He relayed the Sermon on the Mount. People unable to articulate what they heard, they just lay on the floor smiling and laughing as the truth destroyed the years of baseball-bat handling of the Law. At least that's what I imagine.
The 'Blessed are...' statements are not just random things left for us to decipher. They are describing the modus operandi of the spirit led life. In other words, you are blessed when {fill in the blank} because this is what happens to true believers. So we can examine the statements and ask if they are happening in our lives.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.
This is about measurement. How do we see ourselves in relation to God Almighty? There is no neutral position here. Some will say they don't believe in God but that is because they think they run the show. Ipso facto they have wrongly measured God and their own spirit is in contention with God. When we come to the Lord having been implicated by Jesus death on the cross we are made able to see how God has planned for our rescue. The very first thing we detect in ourselves is the realisation of the holy and righteous God... He exists and he is omni-EVERYTHING! For the person who has been accosted by God's Spirit, we bring ourselves low before Him. This initial act is what is in line with God's will and purpose - to have all things to become calibrated towards the will of Jesus. So, because we have begun that process of knowing He is the mighty God and we are not, we are immediately qualified for the kingdom of God, the place where Jesus is King in heaven and soon to come back to be King of the whole Earth. So first we have right measurement which instantly brings the next response...
2. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted
Once we catch a glimpse of the power and might of God it instantly reflects quite badly on us. We have to be faced with God's perfect holiness and righteousness. This brings about a mournfulness, a grieving at our own shortfall, the impact of sin in the world. We begin to research Jesus in the gospels we see something other-than. With the help of the Holy Spirit we experience a deep desperation about our sin. But this is the point when we have to realise we are in good hands. The text tells us we will be comforted in this but let's not miss what's being said here. Those who mourn will be 'called near' to God. This calling near is how the Lord has us see two sides of the same coin. Firstly we are wretched but also adopted children. As we come to our Father broken and in recognition of that brokenness, we realise the Father already knew all about it and it's us who are shocked by our rebellion! The Father lovingly deals with us. If we won't do the next bit... we are in big trouble!
3. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the Earth
We have realised God is mighty yet Fatherly. This leads to us laying down our own sense of strength. Meekness is knowing you could affect this and that but choosing not to in favour of God's intervention. In the 'poor in spirit' and 'mourning for sin two things are happening at once: Our beings don't shape up alongside God (Poor in Spirit) but then our 'doing' is also horribly opposed to God (Mourning for sin). It's an unpleasant predicament with only one desired outcome... yield, abandon and submit everything to God! The freedom of handing all over to the Lord is quite a thing. However, we have things that we haven't handed over or things we keep taking back. This is when we get all self-resourceful. Many of our struggles and being disciplined by God is because we won't submit, abandon and yield to God. That's why some things have happened that fell flat on its face! These three mechanisms in the spiritual life is to get you to this place....
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled
This is the place where the Lord wants us. This is a core longing that has particular intensity. It is a result of the first three working in tandem to create a longing to be like Jesus. As we press into the Lord to satisfy this hunger and thirst we begin a lifestyle of faith and repentance. Faith is needed to walk in the truths of what God says about us and Him in this fallen, counter-God world. Repentance is needed because we will get tripped up by things along the way. God has already imputed righteousness into all true believers but we can also be nudged towards righteous living as we stay in proximity to the Lord.
The rest of them
The rest of the 'blessed are...' sayings are the implication of walking in these Spirit led ways. As we read the rest of them we find they are about attitudes coming out and flowing into the world you live in. This is Jesus living through a person, countering the world that is opposed to peacemaking, purity and mercy. We also find persecution as this is walked out.
If you are a believer and you have never encountered the strange discomfort of conviction of sinfulness or the inner desires described, I would check you have really come to the Lord in genuine contrition and received a new heart and a new spirit. The spiritual poverty, mourning, unyielded strength and deep desire to be like Jesus are all working in tandem as we walk this out. As described, it can be demonstrated that one impacts another in order, but it really is a combination when walked out in life. If this is all a mystery and you have never even tasted any of this, be concerned. So many people have not truly repented and for one reason or another call themselves 'saved' yet merely belong to a category or religious institution. On the other hand if you find yourself familiar with the above diagnostic, thank God! You are a son who is being brought up by a loving Father. Isn't it good that we have revealed to us the very process God would use to have us issue forth the Lord in this world. We are SO loved.
Gary Ward
No comments:
Post a Comment