Clothesline 238 "Blessed are you..."

2/19/2025

“Blessed are you…if…”.  Did you ever wish Jesus could have left out the “if”… Blessed are you…period?  I’ve always thought that.  Last Sunday we heard Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount and it went a little farther than Matthew’s version.  Jesus told us that if we followed him, we would experience difficulties with the world and its hold on us.  Okay; I get that.   But if that’s not difficult enough, Jesus adds, “Woe to those who are rich, for you have received your consolation,” in other words, “If you have it all now don’t expect to have more later.”  And Jesus goes on to say the same about having enough to eat, for later we’ll be hungry.  It can be confusing. 

Before this passage, however, Jesus had been praying all night.  Imagine…all night!   Then he called his disciples and began his ministry began.  Only after he had prayed to his Father for guidance, did he begin his Father’s will.  I started to think about the idea of father and son, parent and child, and all the teachings that go along with such a relationship.  We can only say that God’s plan is for all of our wisdom and understanding and blessings to come from Him…because He love us.  He is our God and Father and we are his children.  So, if we follow his direction, we will have all we could ever need or want.  Right?  Well, in theory, yes.  But the things of the world get in the way from time to time, and we must depend on our relationship with God to keep us on the right path, to help us to make the right choices, because, in truth, we are indeed blessed…because He said so!  He will always do what he says!

Case in point:  this morning’s devotional spoke to such a trust.  A ten-year-old boy was promised, by his Grandmother, a stamp collecting album for Christmas.  But Christmas came and went, and he never received the album.  In a conversation with some of his friends, sharing what he had received for Christmas, he included, “a stamp collecting album from my Grandmother.”  His mother heard this conversation and questioned the boy.  “You didn’t get the stamp album from Grandma. Why did you say you did?”   With a puzzled look on his face, as if she had asked a strange question, he replied, “Well, Mom, Grandma said, and that is the same as.”  His faith in his Grandma would not be shaken.  After a few minutes, though, he had an idea.  “Do you think it would do any good for me to write to Grandma, thanking her for the album?”  And that’s exactly what he did.  Turns out, Grandma had been having trouble getting the album she wanted, had made several purchases and returns, and the correct album would be arriving shortly.  While he was trusting, Grandma was working.  Isn’t that like God?

Blessed are you… Regardless of what happens to us, how we are treated in this world, what we might have to give up, we have the most important thing:  a loving relationship with a God who wants only the best for us.  Ask…trust…what is best for you will be given.  That’s good enough for me!