I am a Jesus pusher!!! There are some common truths spoken by all of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). Jesus advocates from the first Beatitude an intimate relationship with Him. One by one the Beatitudes highlight an aspect of this relationship. My helplessness is matched with the unlimited resource of His person; together we become the Kingdom of Heaven. Mourning is my constant response to the embrace of the Comforter. In this intimacy His nature of meekness is known. The more I hunger and thirst for His mind and heart, the more He reveals Himself to me. I dwell in His mercy, purity, and peace. These are all characteristics of who He is. All of these Beatitudes are mere descriptions of an intimate relationship with Him.
Jesus also advocates a second truth from the first Beatitude. Through this relationship everything He is will be manifested in us. His mind will become our mind; His heart will become our heart. We will become the visible image of His person in our world. We are people of mercy because we dwell in the embrace of His mercy. We have pure hearts because He who is pure dwells in us. We are peacemakers because we dwell in His peace. As this takes place, the way the world treated Him is the way the world will treat us. It is inevitable; we will be persecuted. But the delight of knowing Him overshadows the persecution. It is a joy to join Him in His suffering. I am a Jesus pusher!!!