January 8, 2017 CHARACTER: Changing the World by First Changing Ourselves Matthew 5:1-12, 48

C.S. Lewis prophesied the truth by how he could see heaven and earth. He wrote, “Aim at heaven and get the earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” Heaven is ultimate. Earth is penultimate. Understanding the difference is the key to getting everything else right.

 

So Jesus laid out this truth in what we call the Sermon On The Mount and its opening, The Beatitudes.  The first and last verses of the Beatitudes highlight that all the Beatitudes are filled with Kingdom of Heaven qualities. So between being “poor in spirit” and being “persecuted for righteousness sakes” are connected with: (5:4) “mourning to be comforted”; (5:5) “being meek to inherit the earth”; (5:6) “hungering and thirsting after righteousness to be filled”; (5:7) “being merciful to obtain mercy; (5:8) “being pure in heart to see God”; (5:9) “being a peacemaker to be called the children of God”.

 

Christ embodied heaven on earth and by following Him we see how to live a heavenly life on earth.