“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
This means
that we will be filled with great joy whenever we are kind or merciful
to someone who
really needs some kindness. That is because our reward
is having mercy shown to us when we
need it. We are being merciful,
for instance, when we care for someone in trouble, and try to help
them
as best we can. Have you read the story of the “Good Samaritan” in
the Bible (Luke 10:25-37)?
That story shows what mercy, caring, and
compassion really are, and Jesus tells us that these
qualities are
the sign of a good neighbor. We can also show mercy to others by forgiving
someone
who may have hurt us in some way. This is what Jesus always
did. Mercy also means that we should
never say or do cruel or hurtful
things to other people or animals. Can you think of some ways you
can start showing mercy and kindness to your friends and family?
Every
human makes mistakes in life. No matter how hard we try to be good,
there are times when
something causes us to make a mistake. For instance,
we may say something mean in the heat of
anger, and we fear we will
not be forgiven. How wonderful it feels when that person we have hurt
lets us know that everything is okay, and he or she is still our friend!
Mercy and forgiveness are
divine qualities that come from God. We
must use these qualities generously with others. Then,
God will see
that we are shown mercy when we most need it, and God will “forgive
us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.” This mercy which we get,
or “obtain,” from God, is the reward for those
who are always merciful.
Step Five: Be kind to all alive.
For the fifth step to heaven, pretend
you are doing something kind to another – maybe you can hug
someone,
or gently stroke a little pet, or give a surprise gift to another.
Think how nice it would be to
forgive someone who has hurt you and
feels sorry. Take a moment to say in your heart, "I forgive,"
and
then say what you forgive. You can even forgive yourself!
Mercy brings true freedom.
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they
shall see God.”
This means that we will be filled with great joy when
we have cleaned out all bad or wrong thinking,
and let our heart fill
with only pure, good, and true thoughts and desires. When we do that,
we are
able to see God and His creation better than we did before.
Have you ever had to clean your room
when it was real messy, and you
suddenly came across a favorite toy you thought was lost? It wasn’t
lost
after all. It had only been hidden by the clutter! Doesn’t this prove
that it is best to keep out
unwanted clutter and dirt in our thinking,
too, so that the treasures of God are not hidden from our
view? We
cannot be fully God-like while we are clinging to the clutter or pollution
of evil thoughts and
habits. We can purify our thinking through daily
prayer and watchfulness. The Truth that comes to us
in prayer helps
to keep our heart pure and clean.
Although we cannot see God in the
usual sense of looking at Him with our eyes, we can “see” God
through
our understanding of Him. That just means we get to know Him a lot
better. We know God
and His reflection, man, when we know the
truth about them. We should not react to what we only
believe may
be true, of what someone else may have told us. Have you ever had
someone tell a lie
about you? You want others to know the truth about
you, don’t you? Well, God wants us to know the
whole truth about Him,
too. Knowing or “seeing,” God is the reward of those who have become
“pure in heart.”
Step Six: Keep evil out of the mix.
For this stair
step to heaven, show some ways you might keep something or someone
bad out of
your house: put your hand up to stop them, close the door
quickly, pull your curtains shut. Maybe
sweep “dirty” thoughts out
of your home. Show how you would stop listening to evil’s suggestions
by putting your hands over your ears. At the same time speak
the truth: that evil is not real! God
did not make it.
He made good only. This keeps your thinking pure from evil. Chase
evil or error
away, and then make sure that Truth and Love fill up
the space so the bad cannot return! Give a big smile and try to glow
with radiance and purity – like the sun.
“Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.”
This means that we
will be filled with great joy when we learn to make peace with ourselves,
with
God, and with all of God’s creation. What is peace? It is freedom
from fights, disagreements,
wars, quarrels, crime, and fear. It is
having a sense of harmony in which everything around us is
agreeable.
Peacefulness is when our thoughts and our world are calm, quiet, happy,
and friendly.
Now, it is not enough to simply love peace, or talk
about it. You must want to do the WORK needed
to make peace happen.
Our blessedness, or happiness, comes from knowing our work as
peacemakers
shows we are one of God’s sons or daughters. Can you think of ways
you can start
making peace in your home or school? Can you be gentle
and kind with friends and family, for
instance? Can you pray daily
to God to bring peace to your own heart and mind? Can you obey
His
Commandments? This is being a peacemaker. This is Love in action!
We learn from the Bible that God made man in His own image and likeness.
That means we are
actually the spiritual children of God, and He is
our heavenly Father-Mother. But, we need to know
that, and to act
like children of God. What better way than to work hard to destroy
evil and error,
or anything that would cause people to hate God, or
each other, or want to cause trouble in the
world. Letting God’s Love
shine through us in every situation makes us active Peacemakers. Our
reward for peacemaking is receiving the special title: “child of God.”
Step Seven: Stop all fighting, child of heaven.
To demonstrate this
seventh step, show what you might do to stop a fight among your friends
or
siblings; or how you might turn yourself away from another who
wants to fight you. Show how you
might put your finger over your lips
to stop yourself from saying something rude or unkind that
might hurt
someone’s feelings. What else can you do?
“Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the
kingdom
of heaven.”
This means that we will be filled with great joy when
we discover that we are living God’s goodness
so well that people sometimes
tease us, or make fun of us, or are mean to us because of that
goodness. It is not always easy to be good or do the right thing.
It is especially hard if our friends
say bad things to us, or about
us, because we want to obey what the Bible teaches us about
honesty
and love and good deeds. When others try to make us suffer for who
we are, that is
called “persecution.” Sometimes persecution even comes
in the form of our own thoughts. These
thoughts might suggest to us
that being good can sometimes bring us trouble, and maybe it is
more
fun being bad. But, since these suggestions and lies are not from
God, we must replace
them with Truth. God gives us the truth to help
us defend ourselves against the persecution that
may come to us because
of our efforts to be good and true.
Do you remember that in the first
Beatitude, those who are “poor in spirit” are also promised “the
kingdom
of heaven” as a reward? Perhaps being “poor in spirit” and feeling
“persecuted” are both
attitudes that force us to turn to God in prayer
for help. Through prayer, we gain a sense of the
presence and power
of God. We learn that we are cared for by God. We are not targets
of evil.
We also learn that heaven is ours because it is right within
our own thinking! This feeling of being
at home with God in heaven
is the reward for those who are persecuted for all the good and right
things they do.
Step Eight: Be brave if attacked by hate.
For this
step, show how you might bravely face verbal or physical attacks by
others who are being
used by the “devil” to hurt you, because you are are
trying to live a good and Christian life. Hold
your chin up high and
think about how Jesus could love even those who hung him on the cross.
Even
if tempted, do not strike back at others. Know that God protects
you and all who side with truth and
goodness. Be glad that you have
a safe place in the kingdom of heaven. Your prayers can take
you there.
Show how you might meekly pray.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile
you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner
of evil against you
falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is
your
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you.”
This means that we will be filled with great joy when
we are willing to do the works that Jesus
commanded us to do in healing
the sick, preaching the good news of God’s kingdom, and teaching
others
how to do the same, even though people might not like what we are
doing. To stop our good
works from reaching out into the world, some
people might say mean and untrue things about us, or
try to harm us
in some way. But, we should know that Jesus, his pupils, and the wise
old prophets
we read about in the Old Testament of the Bible, were
also persecuted by those who hated Truth.
So, when we try to teach
and heal others, as Jesus wanted us to do, we come to see that we
are
part of the family of God’s children in the kingdom of heaven.
For that reason, we should “rejoice,
and be exceeding glad"!
Although
the other Beatitudes promise rewards that come to us right away, this
one promises a
“reward in heaven.” We don’t really know exactly what
that reward is, but we are told it is “great.”
Sometimes we have to
be patient to receive the blessings that are sure to come to those
who live
a pure, Christian life on earth, and have been brave Christian
soldiers in the fight against evil. If
you have been persecuted, or
treated badly, for using prayer to heal the sick, or teaching others
about God, go ahead and be happy anyway: your reward to come is GREAT!
Step Nine: With the prophets, stand in line!
When you reach this top
step, go take your place with all the others before you, who have
been true
to God and the teachings of Christ Jesus, and who have tried
to teach and help others as best they
could. You may be the target
of further persecution, but you can be glad for the rewards to come.
Summary
These “attitudes to be” are the feelings we want to grow in
our hearts on a daily basis. We want
these attitudes to change
our character – to help our spiritual selves shine through the material
beliefs that would cloud our true being. The Beatitudes are like sign
posts along the highway
telling us we are headed in the right direction!
But they are also like “stair steps” leading up to
new levels of thinking
until we experience the harmony of heaven – right here on earth!
For a mini-poster of the "stair steps," click on the link below.
Step
Ten: You win!
Copyright 2004 Vicki Jones Cole
Other Links on
this Site:
The Beatitudes
"First Lessons
in Christian Science, Volume Two: The Beatitudes"
