Above any theological abstractions, the simple words of Jesus in the beatitudes: ‘happy,’ and ‘blessed’ suggests a synonym for ‘holy.’ The beatitudes, a series of proclamations without a narrative which forms the beginning of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in Matthew 5-7 summons us to a missional lifestyle. It sums up the blessings and joys in store for people who follow Jesus and His way of life, those who are a part of his kingdom and have the full blessings of the kingdom to look forward to.

Happiness and blessedness suggests the things humanity pretend to pursue (Ps 4:6). In doing these, we mistake the end, and form a wrong notion of happiness and miss the way thereby choosing our ‘own delusions, and court a shadow.’ In a culture, where, ‘blessed are they that are rich, and great, and honourable in the world; they spend …their years in pleasure; they eat the fat, and drink the sweet….’ The beatitudes is designed to rectify the ruinous mistakes of a blind and carnal world. The beatitudes as a missional rule, statement of prediction, declaration and doctrine of eternal truth and its certainty is to savingly enlighten us on Christian practice as measures of happiness.

 Bearing in mind the historical context of the first century Jewish culture and beliefs, Jesus contextualised the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount to proclaim the nature of the kingdom to the people. The Lord’s declaration of ‘blessed’ is a pledge of divine reward for the inner spiritual character of those who are faithful to God and His Words and by their self giving true happiness. In the beatitudes, each saying is formally a declarative sentence, calling for response, it is proverb-like, cryptic, precise, and full of meaning; it takes us further than the Ten commandment because it sets out the kingdom principles in three parts namely: The need for salvation, the fruits of salvation and the result of salvation.

As part of Jesus’ description of the spiritual attitude and state of people who are right with God, the first part of the beatitudes is a declarative sentence on the need for salvation. A good understanding of the beatitudes is to see the Messianic kingdom and the people who enter it. Blessed are the poor in the spirit is a proclamation on the nature, hope, and destiny of kingdom people – for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poverty in this context is not primarily in terms of finances or possessions but more of spiritual. Poverty is a confession of our need of God. People who are poor in spirit are those who are humble before God for salvation is a gift of God. In essence, the physically poor are not excluded because of their poverty and the rich person is not accepted because of his wealth. Our utter need is the only basis for entering the kingdom of God. Our sense of need like the prodigal son is the prerequisites to entering the kingdom of God. We must come to Him and acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy. For all have sinned and have come sort of the glory of God. Indeed, salvation from sin is a universal need. The first part of the beatitudes is a call for you and me to realise our own poverty and helplessness. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.

The second part of the beatitudes (an attitude of being) in relation to the kingdom principle points to the fruits of salvation. Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The first fruit of salvation is mourning. Mourning in this context is about sorrow for sin. It is about opening our heavy hearts to the Lord knowing that our grieving is with hope. In essence, grieving with hope for the forgiveness of our sin brings comfort. The meek are also blessed because they shall inherit the earth. The meek are those who have a spirit of gentleness and self-control; they are free from malice and a condescending spirit. They do not oppress or exploit others. They are not given to vengeance and vendettas; they are not violent and they do not try to seize power for their own ends. However, meekness is not weakness or ineffectiveness in life. The inheritance promised is not Africa or English land because the promise signifies much more than earthly possession. The promise will be realised with the second coming of Jesus when there will be a new earth and a new heaven and the meek will have a sense of place, security, an inheritance from God. Meekness, gentleness, and goodness are part of the fruits of the spirit, they are produced in the Christian by the Holy Spirit. The direction to meekness and other fruits of the Spirit is to cultivate a walk by the Spirit or be controlled by the Spirit of God so that the qualities of Christ can be produced in and through us.

In continuation of our reflection on the fruits of salvation, the Bible says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. The hunger and thirst in relation to the fruits of salvation is about the passion and drive for righteousness, crying out for satisfaction, desiring to do God’s will constantly and in strong term. The merciful (sharing our state of grace with others) in this context are not self-sufficient but looks outward for help. You only understand mercy when you understand your own inadequacies, dependence, weakness and incompleteness. The pure in heart are also blessed because they will see the Lord. To be pure in heart means that the decisions we make, our desires, the thoughts and intentions of the will are untarnished by sin, and that the will is determined to be pleasing to God. Purity of heart begins with conversion of human heart (Matt 15:18-19) when God gives us a ‘new heart.’ In the world where there is conflict and strife, the peacemakers are blessed because they are reconciled with God as they also promote reconciliation with other people. Opposition always follows promotion of peace, championing of righteousness, hence the persecuted are blessed for the sake of justice and righteousness. Persecution points to suffering for the sake of righteousness, but the persecuted will have a different destiny in contrast to the present humiliation. Prayer focus: O Lord help me to escalate love in the face of escalating violence in the world.

The last set of the kingdom principle emphasised the result of our salvation by the use of two natural elements (Salt and Light) to describe citizens of the kingdom. Salt is salty and not tasteless. The purity of the salt prevents its decay. Christians as the salt is a description of a seasoning agent. The result of our salvation is not only personal. The result of our salvation in this temporal world is to function as salt and light (Matthew 5). Salt is valuable for what it does, not for self but for others. We are called to promote God’s kingdom in our society with the Bible as the plumb line. We are to get radically in the way and overcome what is dysfunctional in the church and our nation. Why is Christianity not as strong to function as salt and light today? Weak Christianity is a disaster to a nation and the world in general. Without functioning as salt and light sounding the truth of God, the world is destined for corruption and wickedness. The world and the church are out drifting on the sea without any moral teachings. As Christians, our characteristics of salt and light have to do with influence just as salt acts as a seasoning agent by enhancing the taste of the food. Salt acts as a preservatives by influencing the food not to decay. Christians ought to sting the world in conviction of sin just as salt placed in a wound. We can be a model of salt and light at home, church, and school by living a life of godliness with and before others (Josh. 24:15). As God’s trophies, His light (grace) in our life is meant to be seen and display to the world (1Pet.2:9). It is time to illumine our family, churches, nations and workplaces with the gospel, shining our light in dark places, lights to the unbelieving. Summer is coming, how are we planning to shine our light? We come to church to grow and go – shining for God. Remember a saltless salt is good for nothing; just as a burned out light bulb is good for nothing.

Prayer focus: May we never be so involved in the church that we no longer have time to illumine the world with the gospel in Jesus name.