Who Is Blessed?

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “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 children 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. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:1-16 NIV

There are some people who say, consistently, "I'm blessed." But are they really blessed or is that simply a buzz phrase, generated by the pseudo-religious?

Here we see what the qualifiers are to be blessed as taught by Jesus. Read carefully and reflect on what He says. Now, who is blessed?

We often relate being blessed with material wealth or success, but that's not how God sees us as being blessed. We are blessed to see a new day with new mercies and we are blessed when we leave the earth realm when we know--heaven is our destination. We are blessed to have the use of our limbs and blessed we see beyond not having every limb functioning the way it should. I've seen what people can do who were born without arms and legs and they are more blessed than some who have all their limbs--functioning--but they never do anything worthwhile.

We are blessed to be in our right minds and for those who are dealing with diminished capacity, they are blessed--not knowing what our current political environment has produced--all the hate and chaos.

I guess what I'm getting to is that we have to see ourselves blessed by God, no matter what our circumstances are. If we look hard enough we can see a blessing in everything, even when a madman in the WH. How so? Though many of us know 45 is only in the White House because of the Russian hacking, the lies and false propaganda promoted by his team, we can see a blessing that resulted it from it. People all over the world are coming together, rebuking and refuting hate-mongering and fear-mongering. People are joining other like-minded folks in protesting and resisting the "opposition" in Washington, DC. People are discovering that no matter who they voted for in the 2016 election, we all now have a common goal--to expose the idiocy that exists in the minds of those who think they are superior and to encourage one another to get through this dark time in our lives.

If the haters want to call us names--"snowflakes"--they should remember that millions of compacted snowflakes create a hazardous blizzard. No matter what they call us--or what they say about our endeavors--we have the right motives and therefore are blessed by God for we are peacemakers, not peace-breakers. We promote love, not hate. We endeavor to help others, not destroy others. By all accounts--according to The Word and the success we see in our persistence and determination to have our voices heard--we are blessed and we are the light that refuses to be dimmed by hatred and hypocrisy.

Are you blessed? How do you know? Is God pleased with how you treat people? Are you leading others into truth or deluding them with lies?

As for me and my house and others with whom I am associated--we are Blessed!