I'm a list kind of girl. I like lists. Find comfort in lists. Perhaps even depend on lists. And most of the lists in my life are "to do" lists. Do these chores. Remember these groceries. Pack these things.
But in studying the Sermon on the Mount during Lent, I'm faced every day with an entirely different sort of list -- the Beatitudes. This is no ordinary "to do" list. This is a "to be" list! Be meek, be merciful, be hungry for righteousness, be pure in heart. It's about motives, not behavior. And that makes it so hard for me.
I can handle a "to do" list. I can take on the Ten Commandments. Like the Pharisees, I can take a great list, add to it to make it even better (if ten commandments are good, 20 are even better!), and then feel mighty proud of myself for my stellar accomplishments.
But motives, character, the state of my heart -- those are a little harder to control. Can I force myself to be meek? Can I cause myself to mourn over sin? Can I make myself pure in heart?
But, perhaps, my helplessness is the point. I can't do it. I can't save myself. No matter how many lists I may make to keep myself on track, only Jesus can save me. More and more as I study this passage I find myself realizing, "Only Jesus can do that." Praise the Lord!
1 comment:
Lovely post. I've been thinking a lot about the attitudes of my heart as well. I think you really summed it all up so well. Only through Jesus! And, thankfully, He has new mercies for us every morning.
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