Lion + Lambنموونە

Prayer: Father, thank You for the amazing gifts You have provided in my life. As I spend time meditating on Your Word today, please show me what it looks like to live a life characterized by Your redeeming grace.

The Lion’s People

Who are you, really?  Over the years, you may have interacted with many different stereotypical groups: the cool crowd, the athletes, the artists, the academics, the wealthy, the poor, the Christian, the secular.  Every group has social norms required to enter or stay in, and learning these norms while adopting these attitudes can be exhausting. Even as an adult, these social demographics and pressures still exist.  However, Jesus cut through the cultural norms of His day and clarifies what His people should look like. In Matthew 5-7, we receive the most revolutionary teaching the world has ever heard.  He astonishes every listener by the power of His words and the authority of His message.  Jesus describes the characteristics of His people, but these are not actions to mimic.  Instead, as Oswald Chambers states, “The Sermon on the Mount’ is a statement of life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way in us.”  We become the Lion’s people when His Spirit changes us from the inside out.  If we become this type of person, we can shine like lights in this world.  We will stand out as different when people see us truly changed by Jesus’ grace. 

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. Read through Matthew 5:1-11.  Which of the attitudes is hardest for you to accept or live out?
2. Take out a piece of paper and list out what will be received by these “blessed” people.  (i.e. Matthew 5:3, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”)
3. Have you known someone who truly looked like the “blessed person” described by Jesus?  What did they do that made them shine bright for Jesus?

What’s Next? 

1. Pick one of the qualities that is most difficult for you to model.  Write it out and begin to ask Jesus to change your heart so that you can fully be that kind of person.
2. Are you ever tempted to hide or downplay your Christian identity?  What verse from this passage can give you confidence when you struggle to identify as one of the Lion’s people?