Matthew 5

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: ² And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ³ Blessed are the poor in Spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

These teachings by Jesus point to many characteristics which we should desire. It’s not just that you may fall into one of these; we should strive for all. The teachings above speak about the following characteristics:

• Poor in Spirit – devoid of spiritual arrogance, regard themselves as insignificant
• Mourning
• Meek – gentleness of Spirit
• Hunger and thirst for righteousness
• Merciful
• Pure in heart – integrity, moral courage and godly character
• Peacemaker
• Persecuted

We all should have a poor in spirit character where we recognise all that we are, is from God and that we are nothing by ourselves. We should know that no matter how much we learn from God and are blessed by God, we are no higher or better than anyone else.

We should often mourn when we look at what’s happening with the people of this world and how lost they are. This mourning should motivate us to show them the better way. We should mourn every day when we see the possibility of our loved ones headed towards a place of forever doom.

We should all have a gentle spirit towards those around us, demonstrating God’s love and goodness.

We should all want right standing with God. We should want to treat others right because God has treated us right. We should want to do right because we are his children.

God has shown us the ultimate example of mercy, so we should show mercy in every opportunity presented to us.

We should strive to have a pure heart to do the right thing. We should have good intentions toward all, just as God has for us.

We should always want and promote peace in all circumstances.

The Bible tells us that we will be hated because of Jesus (Matthew 10:22). As followers of Christ, we will be persecuted somehow.

When I first read Matthew 5, I thought that we each fell into one category, but now I realise that Jesus was showing us a picture of what it looks like to be in his kingdom. What it looks like to be a child of God and follow him. It takes dedication, obedience, and remembering that we cannot be these things without Jesus. We need to lean on him not just daily but every second of our day. We need to make him the master of our lives as we read the word, talk to him, ask him, and share our hearts with him. As we get to know him, we will change into this character represented in his teachings.