Attitudes

Now there was only one hope, the sovereign grace of God. God would have to transform my heart to do what a heart cannot make itself do, namely, want what it ought to want. Only God can make the heart desire God.

John Piper, When I Don’t Desire God

Read

Take a few minutes and absorb Matthew 5:1-16. Dwell on each thought and consider what Jesus is really saying in these verses.

Think

Blessed, happy, fortunate are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the gentle, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted. It doesn’t sound like the list of people I would make if I were to think about the ones who inherit the earth, who are satisfied, who are awarded the kingdom of heaven. It sounds like a list of misfits and losers. Or, probably more accurately, it sounds like a list of people who understand their need for Christ’s work in their lives. Blessed, happy, fortunate are you who know you’re a big mess, because there is someone who can fix your mess.

Here is Matt’s interpretation:

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who doesn’t think too highly of himself, for God Himself is enough to make him worthy to enter the kingdom.

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who has experienced great loss, for God has sent His Comforter.

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who has a mild and kind nature, for God will give him the earth.

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who recognizes the parts of his life that don’t match God’s character and has a deep desire to fix that, for God will be his righteousness.

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who does not seek revenge, but is quick to forgive and show mercy, for God has already shown us mercy, and will be merciful to him.

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who is innocent, even naive, for God will reveal Himself to him.

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who tries to help people around him live in peace with each other, for this is a characteristic of God’s children.

Blessed, happy, fortunate is the one who is made fun of, punished, even killed because he wants his life to match God’s character, for God Himself is worth it all and is enough to make him worthy to enter the kingdom.

If you know people with any of these characteristics, you know that they are people who you want to be around, who give stark contrast to our cultural ideas of who really get ahead. They shake our paradigm of what is really important in life. 

Pray

Pray that God will develop these traits in you, and help you see those areas of your life that you fall short of His character.

Do

Go out of your way today to treat people with kindness, to show mercy, to seek righteousness, or to be a comfort to someone, and see how it affects your day.