I’m really excited about this series upon which we are now beginning.   As part of Jesus’ first recorded sermon, the Beatitudes are a chain of truths that Jesus wanted His disciples to embrace.

If we were to consider what we really want in life, it would be blessing.  That blessing we desire might be to be successful in having people like us.  It starts at the youngest stage, as a baby craves the parents’ smile, and continues on to the adult wanting to have friends who laugh at his jokes.  The desire instead might be comfort; hence we might do all we can to have lots of money in order to fund the gadgets and surroundings that make us feel secure and at ease.  Or it might be that we want to be admired in the eyes of others, to have their praise.  All of these might be what we view as being blessed.

But even as you read that, you obviously know in your heart that none of that is really the true blessing.  Yet, we so often chase those “mud pies” as CS Lewis calls them, and don’t long for the blessing that is really big enough.  This is the upside-down chain of blessing that Jesus challenges us to seek.  We are to be poor in spirit, humbly realizing that we cannot ever acquire that which will truly make us happy by our own means.  It is only be humbly and repentantly acknowledging Christ’s Lordship that we can truly have that ultimate blessing, that blessing of eternal life and relationship with God Himself.  What a difference we could make if we as a church would live lives that were so countercultural to those of the world, not being prideful and demanding our rights, but instead, humbly pointing others to the necessity and wonder of relationship to Christ.  May our gracious God give us blessing in this new series.

Rev. Darol Timberlake, Assistant Pastor