“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness…. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad…” (Matthew 5:10-12)
Jesus invited His first disciples to simply follow Him. There was something about Him that was magnetic, causing men to drop everything and follow regardless of the risks. Those who did embarked upon the most remarkable and surprising journey imaginable! Only those who truly follow this Savior discover the promised destiny of eternal significance, “And I will make you fishers of men.”
Jesus’ initial invitation is extended to us today, and if you have been following Him, then you have been experiencing blessings in unexpected places: (1) To be poor in spirit! (2) To receive His comfort when in pain. (3) To find the joy of being easy to lead. (4) To find that longing for His character deeply satisfies. (5) To discover the beauty of extending mercy to others. (6) To experience God’s freedom in one’s heart motives. (7) To become one who brings peace in life’s difficult situations.
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.”
As you have discovered, these could be described as The Road Less Traveled, for all of these paths are rejected by our culture. In fact you must be living in these blessings in order to grasp the meaning and beauty of Jesus’ declaration regarding the cost in path number eight.
Someone will surely think, Be serious. Do you expect me to believe there can be joy in such difficulties and sufferings? This question has been answered powerfully by myself and millions of His followers with a resounding “Yes, it is true!”
We are following One who has opened up the invisible world of His kingdom, and it is a spiritual realm written in a code taken from Heaven itself. It is built on love, purity, humility, loyalty, compassion, generosity, courage, and truth. All that human hearts long for is satisfied in this world that is invisible yet tangible and powerful. It is beautifully shocking because it is so contrary to the values of our culture.
Consider Jesus’ command to love our enemies. Remember we are following Him into a world designed by Heaven. The consequences of forgiving everyone who hurts us and then experiencing the power of caring about what happens to them introduces us into a brand new realm.
Imagine yourself hearing Jesus speak these very words, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and for the joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). This invisible world is the treasure hidden. Only those who dare to follow Him discover why it is worth everything.
Imagine yourself hearing Jesus speak these very words, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and for the joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).… Click To Tweet
This is part eight of the Eight Fold Path Series.. If you’ve just arrived to this blog post, you’re invited to skip back to the beginning and read them in consecutive order.
And you are invited to do this repeatedly. That’s because Jesus’ prescription for ascending out of darkness is a cyclical path that moves us upward wherever we are in our lives. I like to visualize this process as a continuous spiral bringing us out of darkness and into the light.
By now you may have guessed that this is more than just a blog series. The Eight Fold Path is a practice we revisit time and time again, and each time we do, we gain more insights, more self-awareness, more freedom, and more intimacy with God.
The Eight Fold Path was excerpted from my book, Following Jesus Into The Blessing, and to wrap up this blog series, I’d like to offer a free E-Book version of the book to you with just one simple request.
Give it away. Pay it forward. Let’s see how many people we can share this practice with! The more, the merrier. Please feel free to share your individual experiences in the comments, and thank you for walking this path with me.
So, here are the links for Following Jesus Into the Blessing.
So, here are the links for Following Jesus Into the Blessing.
• Inside the PDF Viewer (good for standard internet browsers like Chrome)
• Direct PDF Download (great for keeping on your device)
• Direct PDF Download (great for keeping on your device)
In love & gratitude,
Jerry
This blog series begins with 8-Fold Path: The Way Out of Darkness, and is excerpted from Jerry Daley’s book on the Beatitudes, entitled Following Jesus Into the Blessing.
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