Failte ( Hello).
Greetings to you all on here from Ireland. If are joining me on here , you are welcome.
Luke Chapter 6. Starting at verse 20 onwards speaks to us about the Beatitudes, from Jesus sermon or instruction to us commonly referred to as ‘ The Sermon on the Mount’.
This passage is huge. The depth of message is beyond me. I would refer you to some excellent commentary on this by men, much more Spiritually enlightened and gifted than me.
All that I can offer on this passage, I believe is not worthy of the Spirit of the passages presented in Luke 6, but I do feel compelled to offer you an insight into the personal meaning of the Words of Jesus recorded here, to me as an individual In an attempt to honour my responsibility to those on here , whom in faith have entrusted me with such a task, and of course my love for you, who would invest the time to read it and my sincerest wish is that in reading this today, that you will yourself , go to theses passages and seek God yourself for revelation.
For me, I have come to believe that Luke 6, from verse 20 onwards, speaks primarily to Christian people. The beatitudes and the sermon on the mount, speak about the nature of a Christian , if I say I am follower of Christ, the words of Christ Jesus direct me to a model of behaviour. Something that I should put into practice, daily. I believe that the Word of God speaks directly to me , in these passages, about my relationship to Him and to others. Christ Jesus, I believe calls me to be effective as a disciple of His. These words found here are a description of my Character as a Christian man. However I am acutely aware as I read through the beatitudes and the sermon on the mount that none of the characteristics mentioned there are things that I do naturally. I am not naturally compelled to do them, I need the Holy Spirit, I need Grace in order to carry them out.
With that in mind will you allow me for sake of time and much rambling , to Dwell briefly on one Characteristic. In verse 21. Jesus says ” Blessed are you who Mourn, for you shall be comforted”.
Jesus , I believe is speaking here of Spiritual mourning and not physical. Jesus starts his statements on the beatitudes mentioning ” the Poor in Spirit”, not physical poverty , but poverty of Spirit and Spiritual mourning is a natural follow on from that.
I have come to see in my life that , I don’t just read these words and search them for meaning, as the Words of Jesus, they search me. They confront me with God and His holiness , they present me with a picture of how I am meant to live. I come face to face with myself. In doing this , I mourn the fact that I am , the way I am. In facing myself and examining myself , I mourn about the sin in my life, my attitudes, the things that I do. I love God, I love Christ Jesus, but at the end of an evening , I’m confronted with me and I ask myself , how have I lived today , in light of being a follower of Him?, how have I treated others? What has been my attitude? I examine those things and I am filled with a grief, if you like, I am a man in mourning . I question, what is it in me that makes me behave like this, manifesting in bad temper, jealousy etc? I’m undone. There is a War within me!
If I was to stop here, now. This would be a hopeless situation. But, Jesus says ” Blessed is he who mourns, he will be comforted.” Comforted! Jesus! My Personal saviour. He comforts me , in these dark times of despair , the words of Jesus, the Death and resurrection of Jesus , the buying back of me at huge cost and the grafting of me John into the family of God, comfort me in my mourning. Peace returns, peace in the battle, hope returns, it’s not me, it’s Jesus and what He has done.
Will you allow me today to finish with these words, by one much more enlightened to comment on such things.
” discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong.
Rather, it is the telling the difference between right and almost Right” ( Charles. H. Spurgeon)
Slainte.
Corky – Pilgrim chapter, Ireland