Please change your mind to that of a child so that you can understand the Word that God has for you today.
The Sermon on the Mount is a beautiful sermon that Jesus Christ delivered, it is believed, on the mountain now known as the Mount of Beatitudes. In this precious preaching, Jesus left us with solid foundations to build our life and to change our perspective of it. I want, with this series of devotionals, to call the attention of each of you to the importance of applying this beautiful preaching to our daily lives, a preaching that is as relevant today as it was when it was first taught:
What are you looking for:
Knowing what we are looking for is fundamental to know where our gaze is set and what our objective is. Rarely do we stop along the way to ask ourselves what is the destiny we have chosen for our life, what moves it and where it is headed. I consider this a healthy exercise to validate our priorities and understand if we should make an adjustment in them.
In the texts of the reading, we see two types of quests that are in opposition: The earthly versus the eternal; the vain versus the meaningful; the ephemeral versus the permanent.
In various texts of the Bible, this comparison of quests and their implications is made. For example, we remember when Esau sold his birthright (significant) for a plate of lentils to satisfy his temporal hunger (vain). We can also read in the Psalms, constant phrases such as "does not fall", "remains", "forever", "long days" as descriptive elements of the blessings given to people who have a constant search for God; as opposed to the ephemeral and vain blessings that people who do not do so have.
In this text, Jesus delves into this concept, explaining that we cannot have both pursuits; that is, we cannot seek the eternal and the earthly at the same time. This does not imply that we cannot work or want to have material possessions; rather, our focus and motivation in life must be to seek God with all our heart.
In fact, in the later text, Jesus makes it clear that God knows what we need and knows what we lack. He assures us that God not only knows, but is willing to give us what we need if we seek Him above all else.
This text also speaks to us of two other themes in which we should delve deeper to understand why we should seek the eternal instead of the ephemeral: Gratitude and the greatness of God.
This text speaks to us of gratitude because sometimes we are so busy in our daily lives that we forget the fundamentals of life itself. We have a wonderful body that God gave us and a life that is a miracle of creation. How many times do we look in the mirror and understand that what we are seeing is a miracle of God, how many times do we admire life and thank God for it, how many times does our heart rise in adoration as we admire the greatness of God in creating us, how many times does our heart rise in adoration as we admire the greatness of God in creating us?
Regarding God's greatness, our Lord also invites us to admire the behavior of nature and find in it the confidence of having a sovereign, wise and good God; who can perfectly take care of our needs and longings.
This becomes a constant cycle: Seeing God's greatness produces gratitude and gratitude produces confidence. This is the key to not being worried or anxious.
Concluding the text, Jesus invites us to seek first (with the best of our being) the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. This is nothing other than to seek his presence, his word, his face, his worship, his service to others; to put our gifts and talents at the service of God and neighbor; to have compassion and mercy on others, and to act accordingly.
To conclude, I would like to make a comparison between the ephemeral and eternal things raised in the text so that we can define on which side of the scale we want to be:
Earthly riches vs. service to God.
Food versus admiration for life
Clothing versus admiration for the body
Tomorrow versus living each day with trust in God.
Again I would like to clarify that Jesus is not inviting us to live a life without planning by saying not to think about tomorrow, or a life in poverty by saying not to seek riches, food or clothing. Let us remember that scripture teaches that we should have good planning and wisdom in doing things, and work honestly and hard to earn our money.
This is not the meaning of the teaching. Instead, Jesus wants to invite us that our central motivation in life and the quest for which we give all our heart and effort is the Kingdom of God and his righteousness; for if we do this, God will take care of the earthly needs and longings we have and will open doors of blessing for us as he does for nature.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU
"Blessed is the man that walked not in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor walked in the way of sinners,
Nor sat in the seat of scoffers;
But in the law of the LORD is his delight,
And in his law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
Which bringeth forth his fruit in his season,
And the leaf thereof shall not wither;
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
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