Good Grief

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

I wonder if this is what Charlie Brown was talking about.

Preparation

Poor in Spirit --> Mourn --> Meek --> Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness --> Merciful --> Pure in Heart --> Peacemakers --> Persecuted Because of Righteousness

Jesus' opening to the Sermon on the Mount is a beautiful piece of scripture, but is it something more? At first glance it looks like a simple list of some good traits to have, things that we should strive for. If you check a number of different resources, especially study Bibles, this is exactly how they explain what this is. "It is the standard that Christians should strive to meet."

Is there any other place where Jesus tells us to be Poor in Spirit? Anywhere else he tells his followers to mourn? Nope. He brought a message of faith, hope and love. He was criticized for attending too many parties, not for bringing everyone down. This isn't just a collective list - it is a guide. It details a heart path, the way to get where God wants us to be.

It begins with sorrow. John the Baptist preached a message of repentance, so did Jesus. Part of repentance is recognizing that we aren't where we should be. This leads to being Poor in Spirit.

When our Spirits are low, it makes sense to mourn. We weep over the wrongs we have done and the mistakes we have made. Our relationship with God is in shambles and we feel it intensely.

Pride comes before a fall, and meekness comes after we've finally accepted how low we've fallen.

Once we've accepted our place, we can finally focus on what is really important. We want to leave behind the problems that got us in this situation, so we hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Part of this process is compassion. We've seen how bad we could be and we can see others on the path. We show them mercy.

As the hunger for righteousness increases and defines our steps, we become more pure, right down to the core of our heart.

Peace becomes a priority for us, so much so that we are willing to work to make it so.

This is not an easy task, so there will be opposition. This is the fight that Jesus has called us to, this is the reason for our creation. We will be persecuted, we will go against the grain, we will need help to get by.

Here Jesus changes subjects. Now he addresses the Disciples directly. He indicates that they have come through this. Now they are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World. We're being prepared, we're being trained and we can't forget that.

Two Kings

David messed up. The whole bathing beauty thing put a huge kink in his legacy. He went from being the white knight in shining armor to just being another imperfect example. Or did he? David made a mistake, but he repented. He swallowed his pride (not easy for anyone, nevertheless a king), paid the price and worked to make things right with God.

Solomon messed up. The whole 700 foreign wives and 300 concubines thing was just the beginning. They led him away from (he allowed it to happen, btw) the God of his father. He had seen God twice, he had built him a temple and he had started off very well, but once his heart started to change, he never looked back. And that makes all the difference.

Despite his shortcomings, David is seen as the hero. He was a good king, a terrible dad and at times a lust and guilt fueled sinner. Despite his successes, Solomon is seen as a foil. He was a rich man, a wise ruler and the one who led Israel away from the God who had raised them up.

Both men had faults. Both men made mistakes. Both men paid for them. Only one took responsibility, swallowed his pride and worked to make things right with God. Only one was a man after God's own heart.

It's not about whether or not we fail, it is about what we do next.

Richer

"I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge - because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you." 1 Cor 1:4-6

When we talk about life change we can think about loss. We think about erasure and deletion, that everything must go and something new must completely replace it. Here, Paul talks about life-change in a different way. He says that Jesus doesn't erase or delete who we are, He enriches who we really are - what we know and what we say. There are some things that fall away, but the core of who we are, who we were created to be, remains and is strengthened, bolstered and fortified. We become more than we were and more of what we can be. Our sins are washed away, but they were never what we truly are.

As true today

There is one central message that runs throughout the book of Hosea. Despite the unfaithful wife and the strangely named children, the main point is about Israel's relationship with God. God blessed them, took them out of Egypt, cared for them and they chose not to reciprocate. The people chose to do whatever they wanted, to ignore God and live as if he didn't exist.

The book of Hosea is God saying, "Okay, I'll do the same. See what life is like without me." The result is a book filled with the promise of future violence and darkness. The people have turned to the Assyrians to help them in their time of need and it is those Assyrians who will one day carry them off into slavery. They have picked their god and now they will endure the consequences.

The same can be said of us today. What god have we chosen? When we choose to turn to something other than God, we can expect to get exactly that. We choose ourselves, our own power, wealth, talent, understanding. We choose the government to take care of our needs. We choose others, not as compatriots or partners, but as saviors to do the work to save us. We should not be surprised when we find that after making such a choice we are left with exactly what we chose - imperfection, pain and darkness.

Hosea's message was not one of total darkness, however. Our God is a God of hope and love, after all. Hosea offers the same chance that the other prophets did, the same chance that we have today. Repent. Turn from our own desires and pursuits. Follow God instead of yourself. Make His face what we earnestly seek. Then we will find the peace, comfort and freedom that we were created to enjoy.

Yet

"Hosea, name your son 'Jezreel' because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel."

"Hosea, name your daughter 'Lo-Ruhamah' (not loved) for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel."

"Hosea, name your son 'Lo-Ammi' (not my people) for you are not my people and I am not your God."

"Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"

YET.

We sin, yet God forgives.

We suffer the consequences, yet God comforts us along the way.

We fall, yet God lifts us up.

We push away at every turn, yet God pulls us closer.

We are faithless, yet God is faithful.

We turn away, yet God remains.

We fail, yet God brings success.

We run away, yet God welcomes us home.

We grumble outside, yet God invites us in.

We do everything we can to make God angry, yet His love never falters or weakens.

God Bless You

When I think of blessings, I normally think of things you can get - blessed with money, blessed with cars, blessed with good looks, blessed with talent, blessed with family, blessed with friends. Is this really what blessings are all about, or do I have this idea of blessing because I'm focused on me more than I'm focused on God? When God says He has plans to bless and not curse me, does He mean He will give me stuff and not take it away? That just doesn't seem right.

What does God mean by bless? What does blessing really look like? It seems like it would mean a better life than the one I have now. Does that come from more stuff or even more or better relationships?

"When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."

Jesus' first blessing to us was to turn us from our sins. His first mission wasn't to die. It wasn't to come back from the dead. (That doesn't lessen the importance of those missions in any way.) His first mission was to bring repentance. We can't forget the importance of Jesus' first mission. We can't forget the importance of repentance; it is a blessing.

Suddenly, I don't feel so bad asking for blessings.

God, bless me today. Turn me from my wicked ways.