We have made our way through the first five beatitudes and now we come to one of the most blessed of them all!  They are all wonderful in their own way.  However, this one has a most powerful and dramatic effect on us as Christians.  By way of a short review, we need to remind ourselves that at the first, we must see ourselves as of no consequence.  We are nothing without Him.  Have you come to that realization?  The first three beatitudes have revealed to us our desperate need.  They show us how much we are full of ourselves!  We realize that in Christ Jesus lies our only hope and we mourn over the discovery of our sinfulness and impurity.  What I learn about myself causes me/us to hunger and thirst!  Yes, to hunger and thirst with the promise that follows, THEY SHALL BE FILLED!  To hunger and thirst is a very powerful thing.  It is pivotal.  It is like a hinge on a door.  The door opens and closes by way of a hinge.  We say things, like, “The whole case hinges upon the evidence…”.  This means that so much depends upon our hunger and thirst!  So much is resultant from and depends upon this hunger.   From this we see the powerful results, such as, being merciful, purity in heart, and peacemaking.  The last beatitude is Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake…   What is this?  It is the end result of all that has gone on before this.  Look out!  Some people are not going to like this new-found faith of yours!  They will not be pleased with your new outlook on life.  It will rub them the wrong way.  It will cause them to be annoyed.  Many times, this is due to the fact that your life is a “conviction” to them. It is the Holy Spirit trying to stir their hearts and draw them to the Savior.

Some years ago, I was flying a kite with my son and my father in an open field.  My son was small, and my dad was watching as I started to run with the kite on that very windy day.  As I ran, the kite being close to me, it rattled and shook as it tugged and jerked in my hand.  The wind then began to catch the kite and took it soaring into the air.  Up and up it went.  It reached a height that was almost out of sight.  The string that I held in my hand, connecting me to the kite, was not tight.  It was looped and I could move my hand about and experienced no jerking nor tugging of the line!  It was as though I had nothing in my hand!  I felt no tug at all!  NONE!  This was a very powerful lesson to me.  In fact, I remember saying to myself, “I feel no tug.”  Then the Lord spoke to me immediately.  Yes, right then I heard the voice of the Spirit say these words to me.  “Jerry, that’s right, when you are far away from me, you feel no tug like you do when you are close to me.”   I was convicted at that instant.  I knew that to be close to the Lord meant that He would put His finger on me.  I learned that He would jerk, or tug the line of my spirit, my inner man because He chastens those who are sons and daughters.  I thanked the Lord that He loved me enough to confront this misguided attitude of mine.  For, sometimes, we think because we feel no tug on the line that we are in good shape spiritually and that we are one of God’s favorite children!  I prayed from that time on that the Lord would confront me, and not let me stray from Him, but “jerk” my chain, “tug” that line and let me know that the closer I draw to Him, the closer He comes to me.  But when that happens, look out!  He’s about to rattle your cage.   Don’t resist.  Just say, “Thank you, Lord.”