“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
LANGUAGE
In my previous posts, I discussed how the word translated "Blessed" could also be translated as "Happy."
Peacemaker - Loving peace. I find it interesting that the United States has peace-keeping forces, that are armed to the teeth, ready for battle. They do this to keep the peace. Perhaps being a peacemaker means that we will defend what is necessary in order to preserve peace for others.
COMMENTS
John Piper has a concept he calls "Christian Hedonism." At first, this sounds like an oxymoron. Christian being a pursuer or follower of Christ, and hedonist being a pursuer of pleasure. But by putting these two terms together, I believe he is trying to get us to understand the idea that our joy is found in our pursuit of Christ. I am reminded of Hebrews 12:2. "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus endured the cross for joy. Happiness. Pleasure. I believe this to be truth, because He was focused on the mission, not the emotion or feeling of the moment. He ultimate thought was to do God's will, and nothing could bring him greater pleasure. Previously, I had made this verse about me. His pleasure was to bring me salvation. But this is only true because it was God's desire, and that is what Christ was focused on.
What greater joy than to be called a son of God. Then be a peacemaker. (Vs. 9) What greater joy than to possess the kingdom of heaven. Then understand the persecution you face is for righteousness sake, the ability to stand before God acceptable and justified. (Vs. 10) What greater joy than to have reward in heaven. To stand with the prophets in the presence of God. Then when you are mistreated, when others cause you to suffer all kinds of pain, rejoice and be glad. Because the joy in serving God is always greater than the trials of this earth.
A few more verses to read that deal with the concept of joy:
- Romans 14:17
- 2 Corinthians 1:24
- Galatians 5:22,23
- Philippians 1:25
- Colossians 1:11
- James 1:2
- 1 Peter 1:8
And so many more...
No comments:
Post a Comment