LEGACY

The Beatitudes are bookended with the phrase, ‘…theirs is the Kingdom of heaven’ - to remind us that the focus of the whole passage is to see what life looks like from God’s perspective. As you have spent time praying through the Beatitudes this week, you may have experienced discomfort or surprise at how challenging these verses are. They finish with more challenges but some encouragement, too.

The final Beatitude in v10 focuses on persecution. There will be a cost when you choose to live life God’s way. Jesus prepared his disciples for what was to come and the difficulties they would face. Choosing to live an ‘upside-down’ way of life will come at a cost, one that Jesus experienced through the cross. But, like the other Beatitudes, there is a blessing too. Earthly persecution is no match in comparison to what God has for us. There are rewards to come! However, the rewards are conditional - ‘persecuted for righteousness’ sake,’ not for doing the seemingly right thing, but for not doing the wrong thing. The natural human response to being attacked is retaliation - history shows us that, and the world advocates demonstrations of retaliatory strength. But this is a Kingdom worth living for because you are not in this alone - many have gone before you.

The Message version of the Bible concludes this passage with a wonderful reminder that we are not alone in our struggles. In verse 12, we are encouraged to take up the challenge because ‘all of heaven applauds.’ We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on (Hebrews 12). And we leave a legacy for those who will come after us. One day, we will cheer on others, too. But for now, live the legacy!

Reflect

Use a world map to pray for those in places where it is difficult to follow Jesus. You might also like to look at the Open Doors website to learn about Christians facing persecution because of their faith.

Pray

• Can you name some godly people who have gone before you? What legacy did they leave through the way they lived their lives? Give thanks to God for them.
• Pray that Scripture Union worldwide will ‘live the legacy’ - that those we serve will want to follow Jesus because of our lives.
• Pray for courage to live out the challenge of the Beatitudes. Which Beatitude has challenged you most? Spend time with God reflecting on this.