Recruitment phase has ended for the moment; now we’re deep into training.
Jesus settles with his disciples on a mountain in Galilee and begins to teach them. And teach them. And teach them. This has become known as “The Sermon on the Mount,” and if we had to boil it down to a phrase, Jesus’ message is: “The way God thinks is not the way humans think; and the way things work in the Kingdom of God is different than the ways you’re used to the world working. Way different.”
Jesus’ discourse begins with the Beatitudes, a series of “blessed are yous” which reverse the normal order of things. The last “blessed are you” is, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Jesus is giving his new recruits a dose of reality – "It’s not going to be fun being my disciple. No prophet worth his salt is popular – too much popularity can be a clue that you’re telling people what they want to hear, not what God wants to tell them." So he’s saying they’re in good company… and look out. More than look out – rejoice and be glad!
We will unpack some of Jesus’ teaching this week, but today, let’s think about blessedness.When do you feel most blessed – and by blessed I don’t just mean fortunate. I mean, having a sense that God has gifted you in some way. When are you aware of feeling blessed?
That’s important to know – because that’s one of your connection points with God’s love and God’s power. We all feel those connections differently – for some blessedness comes through relationships, and for others through ministry or work of some kind, or feeling led to give a gift to someone else. Name your connection point - and pray for God to send you more of those opportunities.
And can you think of a time when you took some flak for being a Christ-follower, or standing up for something in Jesus’ name? Or are there times you wish you had?
I believe Jesus wanted his followers to know that he was going to teach them a whole new way to live, how to rely on Spirit power instead of the world’s version. That was, and remains, a hard lesson for us, because we are wired to respond as earth-dwellers, not citizens of heaven. Part of growing into the full stature and likeness of Christ is allowing God to rewire us.
That means there may be sparks at times… and blessing. Amazing blessing.
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