For Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

(Read Matthew 5)

Sometimes, we group people into different categories. There are those people who are direct, blunt, and a tad abrasive, there are those people who are sugary sweet and always upbeat, and there are those who are so quiet you don’t know what they’re thinking. I think I’m most comfortable with the first group of people. My Dad was like that.

Yesterday, a good friend and I sat down to talk about his faith and his story. He is a poster boy for the first group of people I just mentioned. We met at our Life Group three years ago and he was one of the first to welcome my wife and me to the family. He shares a lot during our gatherings and you always know where you stand with him at all times. My friend (J) is one of the most generous and outgoing people I have ever met. His faith is comforting and as big as his personality. “I have always connected with Matthew 5:3-12, as long as I can remember,” he said.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.”
Matthew 5:3-6

This part of the Gospel of Matthew is also known as the Beatitudes or The Sermon on the Mount. You can break it down to a detailed discussion of the kingdom of self, and the Kingdom of God. In each verse, “Blessed are…” is the self character trait followed by the corresponding promise, “for…”. In this sermon, Jesus was preaching to a large crowd pointing out that there was a wonderful promise for each specific character trait. “Why do you like these verses?” I asked my friend.

“Because they talk about meekness, wisdom, mourning, and pureness of heart. The promises of all these really hits me,” he added.

For a good chunk of his life, (J) had some kind of relationship with God but it wasn’t always a positive one. “The first time I recognized that there was a God who loved me is when I experienced a horrible motorcycle accident at 21. I always believed in God,” he added, “but up until that point, I was still angry at Him.”

My friend told me that at the age of 14, he accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. It was at that time, he met his future wife at a local church where he grew up in Kansas. “Not long after, my life seemed to unravel. My parents got divorced, and my father moved out of the country. I started running with a bad crowd too,” (J) admitted, shaking his head.

“I had just turned to God and what does He do? He tears my life apart.” We discussed how if God was doing anything with him at that time, he might have been testing his faith. Of course, most 14 year-olds aren’t going to respond positively to a test of faith. He told me that, “Things got so bad that I had to spend some time in a hospital for my well-being and safety.” Some of his family thought he would be better off living there rather than with his Mom.

Skip ahead 7 years back to the motorcycle accident. “My foot was crushed. After it happened, I said, ‘Oh dear God.’ Shortly after that, every time I passed a church, I felt a strong pull.” But he wouldn’t go in.

He might have known who God was, but he wasn’t following God’s path. “Youth and stupidity are not mutually exclusive,” (J) said smiling. Between doing drugs, getting Hepatitis C, racing cars, and living fast, my friend showed the world that he was still out of control. “One day, when returning home, I found that my wife and girls were gone.” I was moved by (J)’s honesty and willingness to share. He told me that his wife left a message that said,
“‘What’s it going to be? Either you move with me to North Carolina or it’s over.'”

“Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.”
Matthew 5:7-8

A few years later, he was asked if he wanted to help out with Vacation Bible School at the church where his daughters attended near his home in North Carolina. “I couldn’t picture myself spending all that time in a church. But I kept thinking, ‘Why are my girls so happy?'” God was working on (J) all those years, pulling him to this moment. If it’s God’s will, He will break our thick shells. Then it happened. “I joined them in church one time and the Pastor was staring at me. Through the entire sermon, I noticed that he was looking at me.” Choking back tears as he told me that during the sermon the Pastor touched on every screwed up thing (J) had done in his life. “How did he know?” he wondered. “It was as if we were the only two people in the room.” It was a chilly afternoon when my friend and I were talking, but I barely noticed. I was sitting at the edge of my chair. “At the end of the sermon the Pastor held out this hand, “I had no control over my body.”

(J) can be a little rough with a hard exterior if you don’t know him, but the man I know is incredibly warm and loving. He owns up to everything in his life, good and bad. Jesus told us to be salt and light. Salt stimulates thirst, light exposes things. My friend is both.

Always look for miracles and messages from God.

“My twin brother shot himself in the head. He was in a vegetative state and no one knew if he would live or die.” (J) told me that he prayed to God that if it was His will, to please take him because he couldn’t see his brother living like that. “Driving away and listening to the radio, I was blown away by the words of a Garth Brooks song and broke down into a sobbing mess.”

— “That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care, Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

Somehow, some way, after this ordeal, he found his brother sitting up in bed asking for (J) to get him some pizza.

Near where he lived, two young boys tragically drowned while riding their bicycles on a semi-frozen pond behind my friend’s house. “One night while lying in bed, I was dreaming but it was more like I was half-asleep. The ground was foggy. Then, one of the boys walked up to me with his shiny red bicycle,” the one that was actually in the pond, “and smiled.” He said, “‘Tell my mom and dad I love them.'” I was getting chills. I could hear this encounter a hundred times and still be moved. My friend shifted in his seat. He continued, “‘Tell them that my brother is with me and that Heaven is fun.’ Heaven is fun,” my friend repeated.

“I couldn’t move, I was frozen. Suddenly, I came to. I was in excruciating pain.” As it turns out my friend had a 20-second long heart attack.

“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:9-10

Two months ago, my friend’s wife took her own life. Obviously, (J) is still suffering profound loss and loneliness. “Where is God in your sorrows?” I asked.

“You know there are a lot of people who have suffered and who are suffering who have it much worse than me. I think of what Job went through, his wife and friends basically told him to curse God and die.”

I know this man’s resolve and steadfast faith. But we all need encouragement. “So what keeps you going?” I questioned.

“Some day, I’ll be with her again,” he replied. “Just the thought of holding her. I never stopped loving her.” Breaking down, he said, “I do this crap every day.”

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Mourning can make us feel powerless and weak. What do we do then, we mourn and God comforts us.

My friend has very strong feelings about people who are from different political parties, people with different needs, and different preferences, but when pressed you see Jesus in him, not judgement. “When talking with someone else, I’m talking to a human being, not a republican, democrat, straight, or gay person.” Driving his point home, he said, “Jesus never told us to judge each other. He told us to love thy neighbor and preach the word. We can’t do either one right,” he laughed.

When I think about (J), I think of a difference maker. I think of a man who’s heart is larger than his ego. I think of a man who lives his life on God’s promises. I think of a man who extends God’s promises to everyone he reaches. He doesn’t base his peace and rest on his own understanding but rather the word of God as it has been revealed to him. His vision of Christ’s Gospel gives him the hope to endure and us a promise to follow. Someday, he will see God and someday he will join his wife in the Kingdom of Heaven.

“It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.” (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

Key Applications:

1. Everyone needs lifting up at some point in their life. Are there people you know who can use encouragement, but you’re too busy or overextended to help? Do something about that. Take time each day to be a living Christ for someone else.
2. Read Matthew 5:3-12 three times. How does it leave you? No matter what state you were in before you first read it, you should be lifted up after the third reading. How did this impact you?
3. There were 44,834 deaths by suicide in the U.S. in 2020. Reach out to people who seem down. Reach out to people who you know are going through serious stress and anxiety. Pray that God allows you to be a difference maker in your circles. Allow God to pour through you. Show others, especially those in need that there is hope. With a promise from God, there is always hope.

Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.