Goin' Mercer…ramblings and rants!

This beatitude builds from the previous three, but really ties to those that mourn.  The idea is that Christian believers will have a hunger in other words go after the idea of righteousness.  That righteousness isn’t just merely the idea of being “right.”  Stott says there are three aspects to the righteousness being discussed in this beatitude; legal, moral, and social.  The legal an moral are most comfortable to us and what we have traditionally spoken of before.  Legal is simply having that right relationship with God and would tie to law and standards very well.  Moral is about the conduct and character we have.  Social is the seeking of people’s liberation from oppression.  I agree with Stott and see how Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.

In the end we use our time of mourning to weep for the sin in the world and this proves us meek and in need of God which leads us to a hunger for that oppression of sin to be liberated into righteousness.

Try this activity:

As you pray before your meals, pray not only for your food and its blessing, also pray for a hunger for having that right relationship with God, conduct and character that honors God, and the liberation of the oppressed.

Answer this Question:

How do you personally hunger and thirst for righteousness?  How does your church hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Sometimes I just want to jump and scream, “Where is the gospel?”  Gospel means good news and as a Christian the deeper meaning is the good news of Christ.  However, sometimes when you listen to us preach, teach, and speak the gospel is lost.  I lean to the realist side of things most of the time.  I understand that even in the life of a follower of Jesus not everything can be going well and sometimes nothing is going well.  However, when we speak to an audience on behalf of God we need to speak a gospel message.  Our messages as Christians have become ones of politics, moral values, dangers of sin, and the determination of the human spirit.  While all of these and more that I didn’t mention have their place in Christianity they are not the gospel message.  As I listen to preachers I am constantly being aware of their gospel message.  Sadly enough sometimes there is more glory given to Satan than to God.  This is dangerous!  This is sin!  Jesus came to seek and save everyone.  We are all lost and poor without Him.  We have our fullest living when we walk the journey with Jesus and fellow believers.  God is redeeming his people and his land.  God is extending grace!  God is using the righteous for His kingdom’s sake.  God is using our weaknesses to become his strength!  Jesus is living inside us as we press for social justices.  Jesus is living inside us when we study the Bible not to prove all others wrong, but to enrich our lives and draw from his power.  Jesus is living inside us as we worship him in corporate groups and through our every day activities.  Jesus is living inside us as we acknowledge God, our need for him, and our need to live out beatitudinal, Spirit fruit lives.  Holy Spirit is linking all believers together.  Holy Spirit is driving us to non-Christians.  Holy Spirit is unmasking our own sinfulness so we come clean before God.  Holy Spirit is gifting us so we can live under God’s reign.  Holy Spirit is drawing us into real community.  The church is offering hospitality.  The church is offering worship and Holy environments.  The church is building unity together through all different parts doing their work.  The church is breaking down walls of hostility.  The church is forgiving.  The church is imperfectly journeying together to share God’s rule and reign against evil and sin inviting all a place to belong.

These are just a few of our gospel messages!  These aren’t things we wish would happen, but the things that truly exist.  We need to raise up a generation that knows that the gospel overcomes the gates of Hades and becomes an offense to break out the kingdom.  We not only speak the gospel, but in essence we are the gospel!

Q: Where is the gospel?   

A:  All around us, All through us, All within us!

When we live, breathe, embrace the gospel, we then will not be able to stop its permeating power as it exudes and flows from our very being.  Jesus incarnate will flow to all we know and meet!

-Mercer

This beatitude must be seen in the light of the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  In fact there is less to say about this beatitude because it is a direct corollary to the first.  I have two viewpoints I want to share about this beatitude.

Building on each other:

It seems as though the beatitudes are building on one another.  Although Meek and poor are similar, they are separated by mourn.  Maybe Matthew was breaking up the monotony or maybe he’s building his case.  Those that are poor have found that they must rely on God for everything.  This realization leads them to mourn over their sinfulness and the sinfulness of others.  That process of mourning leads to a meekness which is not necessarily timidity, but rather an appropriate self-view, lived through quiet gentleness.  That idea of having an appropriate self-view will lead to a real hunger and thirsting for righteousness, which is the next beatitude.

Meekness, what is it?

Growing up I have always thought of being meek as being timid or shy or even weak.  However, being meek is a discipline of reserved power, a character trait of quiet gentleness, and a mindset of having an appropriate self-view.  Stott uses Dr. Lloyd-Jones summary, “Meekness is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others…The man who is truly meek is the one who is truly amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.”  In other words it is important for us to be meek to see ourselves as God sees us without overcompensating to be proven weak. 

We are to be meek people and our blessing will be the inheritance of God’ rule now and forevermore.

-Mercer