Once there was a crab who told his father he didn’t want to wear his shell anymore. It was uncomfortable and confining and a lot of his friends were forming an anti-shell group. The father did what all children love to have their father do: tell them a story.

“Once there was a human who wanted to go to school without shoes. He whined and whined and eventually his mother gave in. Little Human ran to school … then stepped on a piece of glass, got his foot cut, and had to have it amputated.”

“That’s stupid,” Crab Jr. told his father in that voice all teenagers possess which conveys the utmost contempt.

“I know,” Crab Sr. told him. “But the reality is that you are going to lose your shell anyway. It’s called molting and we all do it. And while we’re free of our shell, we’re at our most vulnerable. The shell actually gives us freedom, rather than take it away.”

Matthew 5:3-12
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (ESV)

I want to conclude our look at the Beatitudes this week. For us to get the full impact of these last verses, and understand their purpose, I think we need to be reminded of the progression here.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom.” Remember how this started? Jesus, when establishing his kingdom, is looking not for the strongest or the fastest or the most valiant, but the person who has realized their own spiritual poverty; the person who has hit bottom and now reaches up to God for help.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” When we hit that bottom, one of the things we realize is our sinful nature. When that truly happens, we can’t help but mourn. God sends us comfort. We are sinners, doomed, then—boom!—there’s Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross paying for our sins. What could be more comforting than that?

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” We might convey this idea by saying, “Those who know what’s really of value will be given what’s really of value.”

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” To truly repent doesn’t just mean saying you’re sorry. Literally, to “repent” would mean for a soldier to lay down his weapons, walk over to the other side, then pick up the weapons of his former enemy and start fighting alongside him. That may sound traitorous, but see, we were already traitors. We were created by God, in the image of God, but we have been sinners. We’ve been fighting for the enemy. To repent, then, means that we lay down our sin and go back to the side we were created for and start fighting on the good side. See the progression? We went from helpless at the bottom of a hole, to looking for nourishment and we are finding it!

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Now, we are starting to fight on God’s side. But we’re not fighting with the weapons of this world. We’re fighting with mercy. The same kind of mercy God showed us. Not a mercy that just lets sins go unchecked, but a mercy that confronts sin, pays for it with Christ’s blood, then issues a challenge to live on without sin. Mercy is victory!

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” This is the true reward of rewards. Not to have a big house or nice cars (though there’s nothing wrong with those things), but to see God. To be in his presence. Where does purity come from? 1 Timothy 1:5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (ESV) And 1 Peter 3:15-16, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (ESV)

And now we come to the verses we haven’t looked at before.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” The citizen of Christ’s kingdom has moved from being just a recipient of God’s mercy, to a purveyor of it. We’re also supposed to become someone who makes peace. Not just a partaker of peace or someone who enjoys peace, but someone who makes it.

Philippians 4:6-7
Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. (GNB)

There’s an old joke you may have heard about a contest between the devil and God about who could make a better human being. When the devil starts to pick up some dirt from the ground, God says, “Get your own building materials.”

We can only make peace if we know the source of peace. And I believe true peace is incompatible with sin, which is why all the peace we find in this world or try to achieve on our own is so temporary. It always gets interrupted. But those moments when we do find peace—especially peace in God—that’s the way the world is supposed to be! It may seem like the hectic, peace-less moments are the norm. They may be normal, but they’re not the way the world is supposed to be. As Christians, then, we’re peacemakers, trying to get the world back to where it’s supposed to be.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Uh-oh. Notice that in the first few minutes of his first sermon, Jesus is already saying this won’t be easy. Why? We live in a sinful world. It’s like going in a dark room and shining a flashlight in someone’s eyes. Their first response is to flinch away, or maybe even take a swing at you.

I wrote an article a while back on my blog (which still sounds to me like a medical condition) about how one of the reasons I believe in God is my desire to believe in God. The same is true of the converse. Many people desire to disbelieve in God. Because if they believed in him, certain standards of moral living would be required. So it seems easier or more convenient to just deny God.

If we’re out there in the world hungering and thirsting after righteousness, trying to let God purify our hearts, trying to make peace in a peace-less world … we’re going to tick some people off!

I wish that weren’t so. I wish that once we become children of God we could just be like pied pipers. Walk through the streets whistling “Amazing Grace” and people would fall in line behind us and come to know Christ. Wouldn’t that be cool?

But we live in a world that’s invested in sin. People are addicted to it and there are plenty of dealers to give them their fix. So what’s going to happen when we really sign up for membership in his kingdom and live for him?

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Some Christians read this verse and we say, “Well, that’s never happened to me. Everybody’s always treated me nice. (Except for those people at the DMV, but who needs ‘em!)” If we aren’t ruffling some feathers, maybe it’s because it’s not noticeable that we’re Christians. Maybe we’re so stealthy as to be invisible. Is that a good thing?

Who wants to be reviled and persecuted, though? Let me remind you of something: it’s temporary. Ever dreaded going to the dentist or the doctor because you knew it was going to be painful? And maybe it really was. [This isn’t one of those illustrations where you get there and it doesn’t hurt at all.] Maybe going to the doctor really hurt, and it hurt for two weeks or two months afterward. Eventually, your body healed, though, and you can look back now and say, “What was I worried about?”

“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Delayed gratification. That’s another thing that’s not real popular in our society. Maybe our impatience isn’t a sin in itself, but I bet sin is the root cause. Ben Franklin said that, “Good things come to them that wait.” It’s not a Biblical verse (surprise!) but it is a Biblical concept.

There’s a temptation to read these Beatitudes and think, “That’s a lot of work and the world’s going to hate me for it, so it’s just not worth it.” That’s short-term thinking! That’s like a football player who’s got a shot at the NFL but doesn’t want to go to all the trouble of 6 weeks of training camp. Training camp is rough and back-breaking, but to a football player it’s worth it to be able to walk out on that field and play in the real game!

This is real life, but you might say it’s not the real real life!

What do I DO with this?

Be God-focused. We’re sinful people and easily-distracted. That prayer we read about in Philippians is crucial. It’s our lifeblood! It’s something we have to wake up to and decide on every day.

No coasting!

Hint: you’re already a victor!