Matthew 5:5-9
“You’re blessed when you’re
content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you
find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
“You’re
blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or
fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in
God’s family.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
When Timothy was little, we
watched a lot of NickJr.™ and PBS. His family does not subscribe to
cable TV…they watch movies and children’s programs via a streaming
service. So in the last few years, the children have had limited
exposure to television commercials. Only lately have they started to
notice ads for toys, cereals, and other products and say, “I want that!”
or “Will you get that for me?” And even so, they are learning that the
quantity of our “things” is not as important as we thought. They are
learning to value relationships…and the concept that we cannot instantly
have everything we want - and that’s more than okay!
I want you
to read this scripture passage again…and again…and again! Let its
message soak deeply into your heart and soul today. You ARE blessed
when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. God’s
food and drink IS the best meal you will ever eat.
When you care
for others, you find that others care for you. When your heart and mind
are “right,” you CAN see God in the outside world. Life is not a
competition…when you learn to cooperate rather than compete, you figure
out who you really are – in the eyes of the world - and more
importantly, in God’s eyes.
Because of Jesus, we truly are
blessed. Some of us are just a little too busy watching other people
and the “commercials” of the world…and wishing our lives away. Will
this be the day that you start to operate more fully in God’s blessings and abundance and less in the things of this world? Don’t you think it should be?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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