Blessings

Lk. 6:20-23

"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets."

Jesus' kingdom is paradoxical to the thinking of the natural man. To the poor, His blessing is not money but the kingdom of God. For the hungry, He satisfies but with no mention of food, and for those who weep, He promises laughter. Finally, for for those who are excluded, hated, and reviled He promises a great reward in heaven. What? No justice here on earth! No wonder following Jesus and believing in what He says takes the supernatural power of God drawing. cleansing, saving, justifying, and sanctifying. The blessings here point forward to a day when believers will rejoice and leap for joy because their great reward will be a reality.  Jesus' kingdom begins on earth with the presence of His indwelling Spirit and with a sweet foretaste of what is to come but ends in glory, in the heavenly realms. Like Jesus in Heb. 12:1-2, I must look to the joy that is set before me so that I might endure and run the race that is set before me. I must look forward to the city whose builder and designer is God. But for now, I need to be poor in spirit realizing my total dependence on Him, hungry for the living food that can only be found in Jesus, weeping and mourning over my sin but laughing and rejoicing because its forgiven, and yes, even rejoicing when He wants me to be reviled, hated, and excluded.  What a life of blessing!
 
Lord,
Keep my eyes focused on You so that Your kingdom is my kingdom. Loosen my grip on the world and its desires. Keep me looking on You, the author and perfecter of my faith.
In Jesus name,
Amen