The blessing of being Christian

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:1-12).

What’s the point of being a Christian? Think about the funerals you have attended over the years. All those people who have departed this life—what did they get for being a Christian? They had struggles, they made sacrifices, they endured pain and they died—and for what? What benefit did they get for centering their lives on Jesus? For that matter, what benefit do you get for building your life around the Son of God? Do you ever wonder if being a Christian is really worth it?

Reading the beatitudes of Jesus, you can get a sense of what Christianity costs you. Jesus says that He blesses the pure. Who are the pure? The pure are people who turn their backs on sin. Jesus expects us to give up doing many of the things that we enjoy. He wants us to stay sober when we drink. He tells us that sex is for married partners only. He forbids us from gossiping. He criticizes those who spend money on themselves instead of using it to serve God. To be a Christian is to renounce sinful pleasures.

Jesus also extends His blessings to those who are persecuted because of righteousness. In our society, you are expected to ‘go with the flow’. Your high school friends don’t appreciate you being a wet blanket at their parties. Your boss doesn’t want you to point out that his business practices are unethical. Whether it is your labor union or your political party, the leadership expects you to vote the way they tell you to. But Jesus instructs us to evaluate every decision we make in light of God’s laws; this means that sometimes we have to take a stand that makes us unpopular. Many people resent Christians who stand up for what is right.

Jesus praises those who are the poor in spirit, who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The follower of Jesus has to swallow his pride and admit that he is not the good and upright person he ought to be. Christians realize that the only way we can be successful in life is if God fills us with the righteousness of Christ. But it’s hard to let go of our pride; it’s hard to completely trust in someone else to take care of you, even when that someone is the Lord Himself.

Also held up for praise are the meek. When you were a baby, your parents jumped every time you cried, reinforcing the notion that you were the most important person in the world. What a shock, then, to hear Jesus say "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all" (Mark 9:35). Of course, Jesus is not suggesting anything that He wasn’t willing to do Himself—He said, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). However, it goes against our grain to put the needs of others before our own.

But the hardest thing about being a Christian is offering mercy to those who have hurt us. Jesus said, blessed are the merciful; He looks favorably on everyone who is willing to stop carrying a grudge and offer forgiveness instead. Nor does the Lord want us taking sides when others are fighting—He says blessed are the peacemakers. Just as the Son of God came to mediate peace between heaven and earth, so does He praise those who work at resolving the conflicts that constantly swirl around us. But it is extremely difficult for us to let go of our anger over being hurt; it is hard to forgive.

Jesus does ask a lot from us. He said, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). Are the costs of discipleship worth it to you? If you are going to follow Jesus, He expects you to do so without reservation; "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God," He said (Luke 9:62).

We all know people who died in the faith. Why did they accept the burdens of Christianity? How could they be happy while denying themselves certain pleasures? How could they live contentedly when their beliefs made them stick out from the crowd? How could they let go of their pride and serve others in humility? How did they find it in themselves to let go of old hurts and be forgiving?

The saints lived this way because they were grateful—grateful to Jesus. They knew that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). They knew that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) The saints were grateful because they knew how much Christ sacrificed to make this wonderful promise a reality for us—that He suffered all of God’s terrible anger at our sins and died under His chastening hand, that you and I might be spared--pardoned for our crimes against God and man.

Does being a Christian weigh you down? Satan wants you to think so. But what does Scripture say? John writes, This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world (1 John 5:3). And the Savior promises, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Sin wants you to look at the challenges of the Christian life—but I have to tell you, the benefits far outweigh them!

To begin with, the Christian has release from the mistakes of the past. How many thoughtless words do you wish you could take back? How many times have you caused harm that you just cannot fix? But as a Christian you are blessed because the Savior shows you mercy. When you ask Jesus to forgive you, He does—just like that! He doesn’t demand anything from you except remorse over your sin. In Christ the mistakes of your past are forgotten completely and forever. He suffered God’s anger for your sins so that you don’t have to.

Another benefit of the Christian life is that you have purpose and direction. How many people do you know who drift from city to city, job to job, relationship to relationship, with no idea of why they are alive or what they should be doing with their time here on earth? As a Christian, you aren’t like that! You are blessed because God has filled you with His Spirit, filled you with the confidence of knowing that you are special. Paul writes, we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). When the unbeliever looks into the future, all he sees is a dark, confusing fog. When we Christians look into the future, we see God.

Our world is filled with lonely people who are desperately looking to connect with others. Yet with only a flawed commitment to forgiveness, they are victims of one failed relationship after another. Christians, however, are united by forgiveness—united by Jesus with God and each other. When we belong to Him, we are blessed because He calls us sons of God. Jesus redefines family in these verses from Matthew chapter 12: Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." In Jesus, we are members of the largest family on earth.

Christians do face challenges in life, but our loving God does not leave us to face them on our own. Sometimes, God protects us from harm by keeping it far away from us. Other times, the Spirit of God equips us to handle problems by giving us strength and courage. There are times when suffering does afflict us; sometimes we set ourselves up for trouble because of our sinful behavior, and other times God permits a measure of suffering to force our wandering attention back to Him. Whatever the circumstances, when times of suffering come, there is one thing we can always count on—we are blessed, because everyone who cling to Jesus will be comforted.

But there is one blessing promised to Christians that we cannot fully appreciate in this life; Jesus assures us that everyone who believes in Him has membership in the kingdom of heaven. You and I are citizens of that kingdom right now, because Jesus rules our hearts, making us His subjects. But His primacy in our hearts is challenged—in life we are both saints and sinners, people made holy by Jesus, who still struggle with the sin that is both in us and all around us. We won’t experience the kingdom of God in its full splendor until we die and leave all sin behind once and for all. Then, on the day of resurrection, we who died in Christ will inherit the earth. But it won’t be this old, sin-ravaged earth—it will be a world remade by God in the lost splendor of Eden. There will be no sin in that new world—those who were sinners but never saints will spend their eternity someplace far away and very unpleasant. On the new earth, all the struggles of being a Christian will be gone, leaving only the blessings our Lord has promised to His saints.

The saints whom we honor in our memories on All Saints' Day made an important decision—they focused on the long term, not the short term. They agreed with Paul, who wrote these words in 2nd Corinthians: That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. The saints kept their eyes on the prize—eternity in paradise with God. Blessed are you if you do likewise.