Against the Grain
The Beatitudes provide the framework for our next sermon series, the title of which is “Against the Grain.”
Poised for inspiration, I thought to myself, “Say no more, Ben...the title itself provides all the material I need for a devotion.” As a parent to four boys spanning the ages of 16 to 22, I have no shortage of cliches, teachable moments, and sage wisdom as to the benefits of going against the grain... of being set apart; of swimming against the current; of NOT following the crowd; of not being the guy who jumps off the bridge just because everyone else is doing it.
Living for Christ in this culture (teen or otherwise) requires going against the grain and this is not accomplished without discipline, determination, and a healthy dose of Mom-lectures. So as I was contemplating which lecture to pull from my vast archives, Pastor Ben said something that I don’t think he intended to be particularly profound. It didn’t even merit a bullet point on the big screen.
He mentioned that many people equate the Beatitudes with the 10 Commandments, as though the former were the New Testament version of the latter. I hadn’t thought of it before but I see the connection. Both are concise lists tied to God’s favor... with one important distinction. One list involves “doing” and the other, “being”.
Just a few verses after the listing of the Beatitudes, Jesus tells His listeners that He has not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. In essence, He has come to add flesh and blood to the commandments… to give them heart.
So in Matthew 5, beginning with verse 21, Jesus makes multiple references to Old Testament laws using a series of “You have heard it said _________, but I tell you _________ “ statements. He turns actions into attitudes when He explains that it is not murder, adultery, lying, or revenge that is wrong but rather the condition of the heart that undergirds them.
We should therefore endeavor not just to avoid murder, but to avoid the hate that leads to it. We should strive not merely to abstain from adultery, but to eliminate the lust that fuels it. This was revelatory to the Jews as their concept of right standing with God had everything to do with outward sin.
When we focus inward instead and address who we are at the core, we begin to look more like Jesus and our actions naturally begin aligning with His. Jesus didn’t come to tell us what to do. He came to show us who to be. So if Jesus is most concerned about who we are and the Beatitudes are a listing of the traits He values, we best pay attention.
Just as He flipped the Old Testament laws on their heads, Jesus issues the Beatitudes to flip the script on human nature. We don’t naturally prize being poor in spirit, meek, mournful or persecuted.
Even the “positive” attributes listed (hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker) are not at the top of our culture’s most sought after virtues. We seek instead to be powerful, prosperous, and popular. These are worldly traits and, not surprisingly, exactly what the Jews were looking for in a Messiah. Of course, Jesus flipped that notion on its head as well.
In the coming weeks, we will learn how each of the Beatitudes point to the kind of person Jesus is calling us to be. They aren’t anything like what the world prescribes, and that brings us right back to the theme of this series and the call on our lives as Christ followers...against the grain.
~ Melissa Gibbs has been member at LIFE Fellowship for over 10 years, is the mother to four boys and widow of the late JD Gibbs.