Cross-Shaped Blessings of God
The opening words of a nation’s founding document give you a clear sense of the tone and direction of that nation’s life. The Constitution of the United States famously – and very intentionally – begins with the words, ‘We the people…’ And without reading anything else in the document, one can tell that this will be a nation where the people rule supreme – this will be a land of democracy. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus outlines the blueprint for His new society—the Kingdom of Heaven. What would you expect to be in this blueprint? Rules? Regulations? Rituals? Read along, and you will discover a glorious truth: the blueprint for the Kingdom of Heaven is full of the blessings of God.
The Kingdom of Heaven—the Kingdom in which Jesus is King—is indeed a kingdom of great blessing. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of the blessing of God on nine occasions. He repeats, ‘Blessed are…Blessed are…Blessed are…’ But as we look at Jesus’ profile of the blessed person, we need to be prepared to un-learn a great deal that our culture has taught us. Our culture has taught us that the people who enjoy blessing in life are those who fight hard for themselves, who defend their corner, who have an unshakeable belief in themselves. That’s how we’re conditioned to think. But Jesus turns all of this upside down.
In Matthew 5:3, Jesus declares, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ To be poor in spirit means to be broken and needy in spirit – to have an attitude of heart that says, ‘I have nothing – I come to the kingdom with empty hands, no possessions, no spiritual assets.’ In Matthew 5:4, Jesus declares, ‘Blessed are those who mourn.’ Jesus is not referring here to a general glumness. Jesus is talking about a conscious mourning over sin—a mourning over the fact that we are not, in spiritual terms, the people we ought to be. The kingdom of heaven belongs not to those who can make a strong case that they are morally upright but, rather, to those who acknowledge with tears that they are morally bankrupt before God. This sense of unworthiness is linked to the characteristic that follows. It is the ‘meek’ (Matthew 5:5) who enjoy the blessing of God and who will enjoy an eternity in His new society. Again, they are those who do not stand on their own merits or demand what is due them – but approach God in a posture of humility and dependence.
All of this begs the question, “Is the soil of your heart prepared to receive the blessing of God?” The answer hinges upon whether or not you have responded to the work of Jesus on the cross. Ultimately, the description of the blessed person in Jesus’ new society is that of a person whose guilt before God is dealt with through repentance and faith. People will only be admitted to the kingdom once their sin is forgiven, and it’s only at Calvary that sin is addressed. In order to do that, we need to be poor in spirit: “Nothing in my hand I bring, only to your cross I cling”. We need to mourn our sin, that we might receive the comfort of Christ’s forgiveness through His shed blood. And we need to be meek, coming to the Lord with no bravado, no pride, but a humble request for mercy. Today, fix your eyes upon the cross of Christ, mourn your sin, and then receive the blessings of God’s Kingdom that abound!