The Beatitudes: a Community of Character
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God’ Matt 5.8
All over the globe human beings desperately long for a revelation of God. The human heart longs to encounter the Holy One, the one who has every perfection and every power. Some seek this revelation through good works and religious observance. Some through the abandonment of conventional morals and religious tradition, seeing these as a hinderance. Under Christ’s saving reign the disciple is brought into God’s presence at a price. Then through applying the cleansing power of his blood day by day and turning to him, sees more of him. Best if all, one day we will see all of him that a human heart can possibly bear, in glory.
Reflection Questions
- Read Matthew 1.18-25. What do we learn about (i) the identity and (ii) the future mission of Jesus, from this account?
2. All over the globe human beings desperately long for a revelation of God. The human heart longs to encounter the Holy One, the one who has every perfection and every power.
Some seek him through the abandonment of conventional morals and religious tradition, seeing these as a hinderance. Some seek this revelation of God through good works and religious observance.
(I) Discuss examples that you have seen of human beings going to great lengths to see and know God, either by abandoning traditional religion or embracing religious observance.
(II) Read Romans 1.18-25. This is a confronting passage which speaks of the tendency of the human heart to turn created gifts into gods, our tendency to exchange the living God for idols. While secular people don’t tend to worship traditional idols like stone or wooden statues, we still place other created things before God in our affections. These might be: special friendships; the love of spouse or family; status; prestige; or wealth and the security it brings. These are good gifts, but they ought not be worshipped as gods.
When we look for our ultimate love, joy, and salvation in these created gifts, we are looking for God in the wrong place. We end up weary and disappointed.
How then is Matthew 1.22-23 good news?
3. Consider Matthew 5.8, the sixth beatitude:
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’
We can see God (according to Matthew’s Gospel) because He has come to us in Jesus of Nazareth. God has walked among us, as one of us “ ‘they will call him Immanuel’ which means ‘God with us’” Matt 1.23.
Read Matthew 14.13-26. What characteristics or attributes of God do we see in the episodes of the feeding of the 5000 and the walking on water?
4. Consider Matthew 5.8, the sixth beatitude:
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’
We can perceive God now because he has come to us in Jesus. However, the first time he came he voluntarily limited the full expression of his power in order to die in weakness for our redemption. Se we haven’t seen all of him revealed yet.
But, what will we see when he returns a second time? (read 1 John 3.1-3).
5. The sixth beatitude insists on the necessity of purity of heart as a condition for recognising God in Christ.
This purity of heart refers at least to our forgiveness through Jesus. Also, our making God our first love, rather than created gifts like family, spouse, friendship, wealth, or status.
Personal reflection: what good created gift might you be using to find your ultimate love, worth, joy, or salvation? And how does the sixth beatitude offer you a better way?