The Pursuits...

As we covered in a prior meeting, there is a place within ourselves that we must come to where we fall down to our knees and confess to God that we are fallen beings, completely empty and unclean, and in no way deserving of the grace that he has freely given to us.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” ~ Matthew 5:3-5

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” ~ Matthew 5:6-8

In verses 3-5, we see the heart of a person that truly realizes their need for salvation. They have lost their pride, they recognize their need for redemption, and because of these two things they realize that they have nothing good to offer up to God. Verses 6-8 begins the journey of the new spirit and demonstrates what a person seeking after Christ should be striving every day to attain through the power of the Holy Spirit.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..."

Righteousness is defined as living by a divine or moral law, free from guilt or sin. Jesus Christ is the only man to have ever lived a pure life and it is by his example that we are to model our lives and through his teachings, seek his face so that we are able to see the face of God. So how are we, a completely unworthy and unclean people able to have the mind of Christ? He invites us to come to his table and drink from the everlasting fountain (John 4:14, Revelation 22:11) and eat the bread of life (John 6:35). He tells us in Isaiah 55:1-2 that what he offers is free and will fill us with a satisfaction that is far greater than anything we can find for ourselves. His offering is not meant to quench our physical need, but to fill the desire of our soul so that we may live the life that God has set before us. Christ gave us this example of food and water because we are able to take our finite minds and catch a glimpse of something that is infinitely greater than our minds capacity.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy….”

Mercy is defined as forgiving, compassionate, and withholding of the punishment or judgment of our sins. In James 2:13, Christ states:

“For judgment is without mercy to one who has

shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

God is very clear here and states very directly that he will not show mercy to those who do not show mercy themselves. We see in the parable of the unforgiving debtor (Matthew 18:21-35) that Christ compares heaven to the king that forgave his servant of an enormous debt that he owed. That same servant then turns around and demands that a man that owed him only a small amount, pay him immediately or risk being thrown into jail. This debt was much smaller, but instead of showing even a small bit of mercy he brought down his wrath upon the man. Upon hearing this story, the king had the servant he had forgiven thrown into jail for not showing mercy. So what are we to draw from this parable and why is the act of mercy such an important aspect of a believer’s life. The parallel that Christ draws with this parable is that because we have been shown so much mercy, our heavenly Father will do like the king if we do not forgive our brothers and sisters. The act of showing mercy is a reflection of our hearts and our understanding of the mercy that God has shown by not bringing his wrath upon us. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is an act of mercy that no person can fully understand and because of his sacrifice, we have no basis for which to condemn anyone. Mercy is a direct reflection of our Christianity and if we can not find mercy in our hearts, we must wrestle with if we have truly accepted God as our merciful savior and fallen under the weight of what that means for our lives. Seeing our depravity links directly back to the recognition that we are poor in spirit and that we need God’s mercy because we are fully unfit for the mercy that God has shown us. I believe that Ephesians 5:1-2 gives a true account of how we should see the love of Christ and how that love should be shown through our lives.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God…”

The heart is defined as the seat of emotions, thoughts, and intentions. It is translated as “mind or soul” or “central or most vital part of something”. The heart is the part of the body by which we define someone’s life and death and it is the center from which the life blood flows. In Psalm 51:10, David cries out for God to create in him a clean heart that he may be renewed and have a steadfast spirit. A clean heart David says is the foundation from which our spirit becomes aligned and strong in God. We are called the children of God in 1 John 3:1-3 and as his children, our lives should be spent in the pursuit of becoming more and more like our Heavenly Father. Since our path to this becoming is through Christ, we should seek to have the mind of Christ and live as he lived. This is the journey of the Christian life and we take this journey through hope and faith on the second coming of Christ and with his coming, the realization of our journey. As stated in verse three of the 1 John 3, it is because of this hope that we should be motivated to live a pure life which can only be achieved when God has purified our hearts and set our eyes on him.

As imagined, having a pure heart is not something that is easy or will ever truly be attainable until the day that Christians see the face of Christ. The refining of the hearts is something that is never finished because our human hearts are inherently evil. However, James 4:7-10 tells of the promise of God that if we go after and seek him, he will return and draw close to us. We may fall down again and again and we may feel that we can never come back to God, but if we trust in the word of the Lord then we know that “he will never leave us nor forsake us…”. And as you go throughout your day and your life, Matthew 12:34-36 gives us the measuring stick by which to judge our hearts.

“…..For whatever is in your heart determines what you say…”

The mouth is a gateway to our hearts and examining our words will show us the condition of our hearts.

~From the Balcony