As we continue our journey into Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes I am finding it increasingly difficult. I realize the importance of having strong and solid foundations to build my life on. That is common- sense just as it is commonsense to ensure my home has solid foundations. I am happy to pay the extra money required to have engineered specifications for these foundations. Why then do I struggle with paying the price to ensure that my life is built on solid foundations? Living out the beatitudes is hard work and requires us to pay a price! This next foundation in our series is a tough one – persecution! Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness … blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
Today’s foundation of persecution comes as a result of us putting into practice the other seven beatitudes! It is true, that as we live out a life pleasing to the Lord, this same life will cause offence to others and ironically persecution will come our way. Crazy! Yet this is what God’s word teaches so clearly. Jesus is preparing us for the inevitable. We need to be ready for it! We need to know what to do when it comes. And what do we do? Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven …” Perhaps this is why it is crucial for us to stick together as a church family!
We need to be living our lives from an ‘eternal perspective’. This is why we have adopted as our theme for 2016, ‘Connecting Sundays to Mondays …’ Firstly, we are first laying the foundations of the Beatitudes so that we can move on into the second series for 2016 titled, ‘Being a Distinctive Disciple in the Home, at Work, School, University and the Church’. These foundations are critical if we are to become ‘distinctive disciples’!
I invite you all to attend our Vision and Planning Day that will be held next Saturday at Como Community Church. It will be here that we will set our course to become a church family that can really make a difference in our homes, workplaces, schools, universities and church. Christ died for the church! Our task as a church is to be about building His kingdom here on earth. We all have a part to play in this! So join us and become informed as to how you can play your part!