The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:10-12 #8 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men 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 men persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
This final one might be the most difficult. What does it mean for us?
Note in this last beatitude where the wording shifts from blessed are those, to blessed are you, the only time this happens. It changes from Blessed are those who are persecuted – generic – to a very personal blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you. The reason is because this beatitude isn’t referring to the internal work you go through that you celebrate in the previous statements. This is a head’s up that refers to a potential rejection of you by others when you follow your spiritual path of truth and love; Jesus wants you to be aware of that possibility and not be discouraged or turned off your path, but to stay strong in your faith.
In the last sentence, He said “Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great.” The word for glad means to leap exceedingly. It is the leaping-for-joy runner who overcomes all obstacles in their path and crosses the finish line in truth and integrity.
Why the warning?
The truth is frightening to many people when it is different from what they believe. When frightened, people often persecute those who believe differently, call them names, slander them, try to destroy their reputations, ridicule, express hatred, and even kill. When we embody love no matter what is coming at us from other’s fear-caused reactions, we are strengthened with God-confidence while serving the world in honesty and integrity. Is that not what we all choose no matter the chaos and negativity around us? To stand solid in the Divine Truth?
Again, this is not something we try to do on our own. That is believing in separation, not Oneness. When we surrender to that Inner Authority that knows the truth, shares the truth, we are empowered. This is not something we earn. It is a gift. A gift from God.
So to paraphrase…
Oh the godlike joy when we are persecuted for embodying God’s truth, because when we surrender, emptying ourselves of fear and misperceptions, we open ourselves to receiving Divine Truth which strengthens us to be that which we truly are – love. And when we do, we inspire others to also express God’s love. This is joy.
I pray that the core of Jesus’ teachings expressed in The Beatitudes, touches you in new, inspiring and powerful ways. We are to emblazon these truths on our hearts, and live them.
To summarize…
We celebrate when we:
- Surrender and place our trust in God.
- Realize that despite our mistakes, God loves us anyway.
- Are teachable and open to God’s truth.
- Are filled with God’s goodness through surrender.
- See others as God sees them.
- See with pure intentions through God’s lens of love.
- Make peace within our own hearts.
- Are empowered by God when we live the Divine truth, which is love.
The Beatitudes are, in reality, about surrender. The only way we can follow these powerful life-changing truths is to merge our desires with God’s so that they are one desire – God’s will. Surrender is the answer to everything.
To share a quote that I received in a Divine message, Jesus said…
Once you get oneness, everything else falls in place.
- So, in closing, the distilled truth of The Beatitudes, is
We celebrate when we surrender everything we are to God that has all of the answers to all of our challenges, knowing that when we are emptied of self, we are filled with the Divine.
This post is the final in The Beatitudes. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. The previous seven are linked below.
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #8: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #8 Blessed are those who are persecuted…
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Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
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Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #7 Blessed are the peacemakers…
Carolyne Cathey 