The Narrow PathSample

The Way of Love

One of the most well-known—and subversive—sections of the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’s primer on true happiness or blessedness. These are often called the Beatitudes.

Here, Jesus describes what happiness is all about. But he doesn’t primarily describe emotions or feelings. Instead, he outlines a surprising way of life—an upside-down existence. To be blessed is to be accepted by God, whether circumstances seem to confirm or deny it.

By starting his sermon not with a list of to-dos but by letting us know who is blessed, Jesus clarifies that those in his kingdom don’t work for blessing but from blessing. Jesus’s disciples don’t have to seek blessing; they are already blessed by God. In kindness, Jesus announces what we are all looking for: joy.

Humanity has been seduced into a vision of the good life based on physical health, ample money, and minimal challenges. But Jesus turns it all around, explaining that the most fortunate people are those who are socially disregarded and recognize their deep need for God. It’s not that God despises comfortable people; it’s that he knows the benefit of spiritual disruption, especially when prevailing assumptions about the good life are dangerous.

In the kingdom of God, the happiest people are oriented around love, not accruing greater possessions or power. To walk in step with Jesus is to walk in the way of love—a love that seeks to bring reconciliation where there has been fragmentation, a love that rejoices over mercy, not resentment, a love that works to end injustice, refusing to stand by idly. This is the path of life that satisfies our souls.

Jesus clearly states that the blessed are not free from trouble. Rather, they endure trouble as they bear witness to Jesus’s subversive path. The blessed life is connected to the cross. Patterning our lives after Christ requires the death of our egos, our false selves, and the larger culture that incentivizes self-centeredness.

Yet as God raised Jesus from the dead, so, too, he will raise you from the dead. As God vindicated his Son, God will also vindicate those who choose the way of the Son.

So be of good cheer. Following Jesus on the narrow path places you among the most blessed people on earth.

God, help me see and seek the blessed life of dying to myself. Amen.

We hope this plan encouraged you. Learn more about The Narrow Path by Rich Villodas here.