Blessed?

Tomorrow morning we begin to look in depth at the text of the Sermon on the Mount.  Of course, on Sunday morning we don’t have time to walk through very much of the specifics or details.  I plan to do some detail work each day for the next week on the blog.  However, I thought I’d start out this section by focusing on the word “blessed”.

Jesus begins His longest and greatest sermon by promising blessing to large groups of people.  The promise of blessing gets my attention.  However, if you have ever read the first 12 verses of chapter 5, you will note that those who are blessed are not the ones that the world typically sees as blessed.  The ones that Jesus calls blessed in His sermon are people that we might call “needy”.  But that’s the point.  People who are needy are blessed because they rely on God to meet their needs.  In that moment, they experience the blessing of God as He meets their needs.

Also, God is an equal opportunity “blesser”.  Rich people, poor people, healthy people and sick people are all needy in the ways that Jesus describes.  That need brings us into the realm of blessing by God.  So, as we go through this week together, I hope you will see how blessed you can truly be.