Blessed are: An Essay on the Beatitudes

In Matthew 5:1-11 (see here), Jesus talks about being blessed. More specifically, what it means to be blessed. Many of us have heard the list time and time again. It's a nice little group. Jesus introduces each of the beatitudes with the phrase "Blessed are...". I've come to realize that those two words have really faded into Christianese. Do we really know what it means to be blessed? We tend to lump it in somewhere around the category of "God loves those who are..." and there is a reward in there somewhere too. If we really think about it, I'd wager many of us can't quite grasp the true meaning. I'm not insisting that we don't know what Jesus is talking about, but I am saying that for myself at least, I had to take a closer look at the scriptures to understand it better.

Dictionary.com defines the verb bless like this:
bless
-verb (used with object), blessed or blest, bles·ing
1.  to consecrate or sanctify by a religious rite; make or pronounce holy.
2.  to request of god the bestowal of divine favor on
3.  to bestow good of any kind upon
4.  to extol as holy, glorify

So when Christ calls the persons in his descriptions "blessed", which of these is he talking about? After much soul searching and prayer, I believe that Christ is not bestowing just any "gift" upon the blessed (3). I also don't think he is petitioning God to bestow favor on them either (2). Definitions 1 and 4 are closer to what I believe Jesus is talking about. I would define blessed as a gift award by God beyond earthly comparison. These blessing seem to be linked to those that honor God by living a life honoring of him, a righteous (holy) life.

To be blessed is to have something given to you that is beyond human description. Children are often referred to as a blessing, and to Christian parents, God is entrusting them with the development and intimate relationships with beloved boys and girls. Anyone can be a parent, but to be blessed by receiving the gift of children is to go beyond the simple criterion and reach for something extraordinary.

The reality is that to be blessed by God is something impossible to quite fit into words. You'll know when God is at work in your life. The result of a life lived after him is that comfort of his eternal blessing of life forever with Him. Each one of us is blessed in so many ways, gifted beyond the normalities of common understanding. Ask God to show you just how much He is blessing you, you'll be surprised. All of creation was created for the purpose of glorifying God. He owns all of it. Simply by entrusting any of it to us is a blessing that should render us speechless.

Thank you Jesus for Your blessings in my life.
Blessed are the children of God, for they reap a reward that no ordinary person could earn.
-matt