How Do the Beatitudes Reflect Our Spiritual Growth?
- Barbara Latta Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
- Updated Nov 25, 2024
Growing up I attended Sunday School every week. I listened with my classmates as our teacher told us the Bible stories in the Old and New Testaments. Heroic acts, miraculous events, and sometimes sad endings to a disobedient life provided examples meant to guide our decisions as children and young adults.
One of those exemplary lessons was about the Beatitudes. On one occasion, we were given a colorful bookmark with these verses printed on plastic so we could have a daily reminder of what blessed behavior would give us. This was a pretty keepsake, but as a young person, I wasn’t always clear as to the meaning of these verses. Does mourn mean I should always be crying?
Many sermons have been written using these Scriptures with a multitude of applications for our lives. That’s because the Bible is infinite. We can read chapters and verses and obtain a new revelation from the Holy Spirit each time we do.
Jesus called His followers to gather around Him to hear about God’s intent for life on many occasions. His repeated words reflected His patience as He explained the meaning of the heart of the Law they tried to religiously follow.
The fifth chapter of Matthew records what we call the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus begins by telling those who listened how to live a blessed life. According to Strong’s G3107, the word “blessed” in these verses means happy, fortunate, and well-off.
As with all of Christ’s words, they weren’t intended only for those who lived when He walked the earth. How can we apply His sermon to us today?
One way we can view the Beatitudes is through the reflection of our spiritual progression.
We can see that our first step to approaching our heavenly Father is to be poor in spirit.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3 NIV)
The way to salvation is to realize that without God, we are spiritually needy. We must humble ourselves, repent, and confess that we are sinners who need a Savior. Our names are then written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we are given a heavenly home.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
Realizing that we are lost without the Lord brings our hearts to mourn over our sin in godly repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). But thankfully, He doesn’t leave us there. We are comforted by the Holy Spirit.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
Our mourning over sin can bring us to the place of humbling ourselves before the Father.
Meekness is not a weakness. I have heard meekness described as controlled power. To be meek means we give up our rights for vengeance when we are wronged. We allow the Lord to fight our battles. Jesus exhibited meekness before His accusers. He controlled the power within Him that could have wiped them out. He humbled Himself to do the Father’s will.
Our reward for meekness, or we can see this as obedience to the Lord, is we inherit the earth. The earth is our Creator’s gift to man, and the righteous are the ones who will ultimately control it.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
Once we remove ourselves from the throne of our lives, the thirst for righteousness will replace selfish desires. When we mourn over our sin we will be drawn to God for cleansing. We can then live in the right standing He gives us by being filled with His love.
During Jesus’ wilderness temptation, He told Satan that hungering for Scripture was more important than the hunger for physical food (Matthew 4:4).
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)
Receiving God’s mercy toward us gives us the ability to show mercy to others. The parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13) reveals to us the example of how much we have been forgiven. We have no right to withhold the same from those who may hurt us.
We can see examples of this beautiful attitude in some biblical characters. Joseph extended mercy in his heart to his brothers and mercy was given to him as he was lifted out of prison to become the Prime Minister of Egypt. David had multiple opportunities to kill Saul but he refused to lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, the Judge of heaven redeemed him by not punishing this chosen king as he should have been.
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Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)
After our hearts are cleansed from sin, we are pure before the Almighty. Continuing to seek Him brings our desires in line with His. Attitudes and actions change and our purity of living shows the world the goodness of God. A pure heart can see and hear the Holy Spirit because we are no longer blinded by our sinful nature.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
A believer cleansed from sin can learn to be a peacemaker. A peacemaker is someone who doesn’t hold grudges but forgives. We are to be at peace with others as much as depends upon us (Romans 12:18). A person who doesn’t get into useless arguments can still reflect the truth. We can live in the peace the Father gives because we are His children.
A peacemaker is not a pacifist. The Bible commands us to take a stand and fight for what is right. Sometimes, we must face battles to have peace, as America has done in wars. We had to fight to stop the aggression of hostile dictators. The end of those wars brought peace to most of the countries that were invaded.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (Matthew 5:10-11)
We will be persecuted as believers because the message of love that we live shines a light on the darkness of a lost person’s soul. But the reward we gain is richer than the persecution is painful. To know the depth of Christ we need to enter the fellowship of His suffering (Philippians 3:10). We have a special reward waiting for us in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus continued His teaching by telling His disciples they were to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
By following the dictates of the Beatitudes, a blessed person is different from a non-believer. The light in our hearts shines to dispel the darkness of attitudes we may encounter.
Our responses to unholy opinions sprinkle salt in an otherwise confused, anxious, or conflicting situation. Salt not only seasons, but it also heals. Living in the vitality of a Beatitude-driven life can heal hurt souls who don’t know the Lord. But if we live like the rest of the world, our saltiness becomes tainted and is no longer flavorful. We can’t make a difference.
Further in His discourse, Jesus got to the heart of the matter by addressing adultery, divorce, revenge, prayer, and the motive for giving to the needy. These instructions indicated ways to be salt and light the people had never heard before. They were so foreign to the way the Law of Moses had been presented to the population by the religious Jews (Matthew 7:28-29).
Luke also records this sermon of blessings but includes some woes for those who choose to ignore the words of life (Luke 6:24-26).
How much better to live in the Beatitudes and prosper in happiness than to find regret through a series of woes.
The Sermon on the Mount could be summed up in one verse. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33) Seeking God first gives us a full life. When the Lord is our priority, we will have the wisdom to make right decisions and live holy lives through our relationship with Him rather than through self-effort.
Can you see this spiritual development in your life? What stage of Beatitudes are you in now, and how can you continue to progress to enjoy spiritual prosperity?
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