It occurred to me this afternoon had Jesus lived into His seventies He would have added a few beatitudes. “Blessed are the nappers for they shall be refreshed.” “Blessed are the early risers for they shall see each dawn.” “Blessed are the grandparents for they shall spoil their grands.” “Blessed are the walkers for they shall not be stiff.”
Jesus was a great observer of people. His beatitudes and the entire Sermon on the Mount is one of the greatest philosophies ever written. It is intriguingly simple and astonishingly difficult. There is something for everyone. His challenge to be perfect as God is perfect takes one’s breath away just by thinking about trying to do so. Fortunately for us it is not the requirement for salvation. Yet it is. The answer to the enigma is how. Paul answers that for us in his letters to the Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. Without Paul’s counsel we would be most miserable. He wrote, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, . . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Eph. 2.
Jesus’ insight in Matthew 5 regarding sin’s most dangerous state being internal instead of external shocks us with a description of our true human condition and how much help we really need. Teaching us to turn the other cheek when abused challenges the heartiest among us. How often do we want to hit back and of course hit back a bit harder. Kermit once sang, “It’s not easy being green.” I would like to add it is not easy being a real Christian.
Written by Roger Bothwell on September 15, 2015
PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
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