The Beatitudes are part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which forms the foundation of believers’ lives (Matt. 5:1–12). It is regrettable when believers do not understand the meaning of the Sermon on the Mount deeply. Therefore, every believer must study Matthew 5, 6, and 7 closely, which also contain the Beatitudes often referred to as the golden law for believers. The Lord begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, which signal how believers should bring the atmosphere of the Kingdom of Heaven into this life—an atmosphere they themselves will enjoy and that others around them will feel.
Without living out the Truth God gives in the beatitudes, believers will not find true happiness. Because God Himself says, “Blessed are,” if we do not live by the truths He gives, our lives are not blessed. In fact, we have failed to bring the atmosphere of the Kingdom of Heaven into our lives and those around us. Studying the Truth in the Beatitudes will make our lives stand out from those of most other people. But we must recognize that the truths God teaches are indeed different from what the world teaches; their spirit is different. God teaches, “Blessed are the poor,” whereas the world’s view is the opposite. Therefore, we must understand what “poor” means in that sentence.
We must also correctly understand the concept of “being blessed,” because talk of happiness and good fortune depends heavily on an individual’s way of thinking, philosophy, life concept, and soul’s taste. Changing someone’s way of thinking and philosophy is not easy, like asking someone who has always eaten sour vegetable soup to eat a burger; the burger will feel strange or unfamiliar to their palate. How to change that taste is the struggle each of us must face. The word “blessed” comes from the Greek makarioi, meaning “happy,” “fortunate,” or “one who receives privilege.”
If someone finds Christian teaching unattractive, it is because they do not know or understand how extraordinary the Gospel is. The Gospel is extraordinary because Truth itself teaches it. Wisdom itself teaches us—a source that never runs dry. Therefore, many people cannot enjoy it unless they use their intellect fully and have a heart that loves God and His Word. Such people certainly cannot enjoy the Truth in Christian teaching, especially those already corrupted by various worldly ways of thinking or philosophies; their souls will reject it.
God will guide us with His patience, provided we persevere; the two are interconnected. Therefore, we must look at the core issues of life, not a spouse, not even a house’s needs, but us- we seek God’s help, toward God’s physical needs or unpleasant situations, but toward our own issues—how we carry out His will and fulfill His plan, namely becoming persons pleasing to the Father.
The common idea is that people seek God’s protection, hoping God will provide help and intervention to meet physical needs and keep them from difficulties. Thus, when that person has no problems and all difficulties are resolved, they no longer seek God diligently. Yet growth must continue. Growth exists within a journey of time. For the development of faith, we must use every aspect of time optimally, i.e, kronos, kairos, and hora. Kronos is time viewed in sequence, kairos are the significant moments within a time span, and hora is a limited period of time. Usually, when someone feels they have abundant time, they become wasteful or ineffective in using it.