David Bahn – Reflections

Matthew 5:3-6

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

On one hand we do not want the blessedness that Jesus offers here. We don’t want to be poor in spirit, to mourn, be meek or to hunger and thirst for righteousness. All these states of being describe a condition of dissatisfaction, deficit, and lack of fulfillment. Most of us wish to be cheerful and full of optimism rather than poor in spirit. We would rather be strong than meek, we would rather have our sense of justice satisfied rather than yearn for it.

But, on the other hand, Jesus tells us that we are blessed when we are in conditions of deficiency rather than self-satisfied fulfillment. There is a genius in His teaching (as though we would ever judge otherwise!). There is also a requirement of faith if we are to experience the blessedness of meekness, grief, poverty of spirit, or yearning for righteousness. The genius is this: we find comfort when we admit our sadness. We discover a whole new world – freer and fuller – when we humble ourselves before God and others. We experience a grace more deeply satisfying than vengeance when we yearn for righteousness deeply from within our souls.

The requirement of faith, however, is the more important part. We must believe that Jesus is the source of all true blessedness if we are to find our satisfaction, comfort, hope, and inheritance in these conditions. We must believe that Jesus comforts us, will one day wipe away every tear from our eyes, and satisfy our deepest longings for justice. And He does. Jesus forgives our sins. Jesus conquered death. Jesus entrusted Himself to God all the way through an excruciating, lonely death – forsaken by God and man – and came out on the other side victorious. He went to the outer limits of poverty of spirit: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Then He went beyond: “Into Your hands I commend my spirit.”

I am not inclined to seek places of brokenness in my life; I don’t really want to mourn. But in the broken honesty  of my disappointment and pain I do find the embrace of God’s comfort. The truest part of me yearns for righteousness, and I believe deeply that I will be satisfied.

These words of Jesus are often looked to in times of distress and sadness. Well enough; they bring great comfort to those who are sad. But these words also speak to us when all is well. When we are happy, thankful for God’s goodness, hopeful as we look toward tomorrow, and feeling strong in the face of the challenges before us, they can speak to us. Any blessedness we have comes from God. This is not the only list, nor the only requirements for blessedness. These are, however, promises we can hold to when we are discouraged, and which we can share with others around us when they struggle with any of life’s hardships.

Today is a good day to thank God for His promise of blessing in face of the challenges you face or to thank Him for the privilege of helping someone else who is in need of God’s assurance in the face of theirs.