I am a Jesus pusher!!! The Beatitudes are a presentation of the core values given by Jesus. He begins the Beatitudes with a declaration of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:3) and ends it with the same (Matthew 5:10). The values of the Kingdom are in extreme contrast to the values of the world! For instance, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). This is such a radical concept. The meek, gentle, and caring individual gives expression to the nature of Christ. The haughty, proud, and domineering give expression to the nature of the kingdom of darkness. Those in the Kingdom of Heaven embrace their physical world in a relational matter. In becoming one with the physical world, all the benefits of this world become theirs. The haughty and proud use the physical for selfish ends. They pollute their physical world with the darkness of their souls. While they value possessing physical things, those physical things never become one with them.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” declares another core value (Matthew 5:6). Hungering and thirsting for righteousness brings a filling. But the nature of such fulfilled desires establishes greater expansion. The filling creates a hunger for the potential of completion. It spurs one into the consistent unfolding of His revelation. The hungering and thirsting of the kingdom of darkness never produces filling. The more you eat, the more you lack. Unrighteousness diminishes a person’s capacity of the heart. I want the values of Jesus in my life. I am a Jesus pusher!!!