The Life that Pleases God Matthew 5:3-6

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus describes the criteria for fitness in His Kingdom. The Neatitudes are Jesus' own specifications for what every believer ought to be. Providentially, the Beatitudes follow the same pattern as the Ten Commandments: just like the Commandments the first four beatitudes describe a life that pleases God, the last four describes a life lived for others.

What kind of life pleases God?

Jesus said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v. 3 ESV).

What does it mean to be "poor in spirit?" It does not mean to be economically destitute, cowardly or without the Holy Spirit. The life that pleases God begins with admitting our own spiritual bankruptcy. "We are all beggars" declared Martin Luther. The gospel does not work for the proud and self-sufficient, but for those who own up to their own sinfulness and who cast themselves on the grace and mercy of God. As Charles Spurgeon noted: "The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches bit my need."

The life that pleases God? The first step is to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy.

Jesus continues: " Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (v. 4 ESV).

What does it mean to mourn? In a word: grief. Its the kind of grief we experience when we see a person who has wasted their life, or a frined who is whithering away from cancer and is too young to be this sick. The Bible applies this to our own sinfulness: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death!" (Romans 7:24 ESV).

Jesus promise to those who please God in this way " shall be comforted." The life that pleases God grieves over the way the world truly is and will ultimately see God set things right!

In Matthew 5:5 Jesus declares: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." In our culture "meekness" suggests we become someone's doormat....sort of a cross between wimp and a wallflower. This is a tragic distortion of what Jesus taught. In Jesus day meekness was described in several ways:

a wild horse that had been broken and brought under control was to be "meek or gentle."

ointment that drew fever and pain out of a wound was "meek medicine"

people who were polite, treating others with dignity, courtesy and tact were called "meek"

Jesus calls us to live another way of life. Eric Liddell, the missionary and Olympic gold medalist, whose life is told in the film Chariots of Fire was described as "ridiculously humble in victory and utterly generous in defeat." That's the life that pleases God. The reward for the "meek: is that they shall "inherit the earth." This means that every need we have will be met. The greedy grab and lose, while the meek inherit and gain.

Finally Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matt. 5:6 ESV). People who live a life that pleases God have spiritual passion, an insatiable hunger to know God intimately and model His ways. This more than just acquiring biblical and theological information. It is much more. jesus is describing about a life aligned with God's character: His holiness, truth, goodness and righteousness.

Our reward is to be "satisfied." Instead of being perpetual victims of spiritual starvation, never getting sufficient nourishment to grow grow strong we shall be satisfied. here is the hope of this promise: we will become spiritually satisfied, able to handle harsh conditions and endure uncomfortable circumstances. God's pantry never runs low. His well never runs dry!

That's the life God blesses----the life that pleases Him.