MAY: LIFE iNSIDE THE BLESSING
"Jesus is the center of our faith,
Christ-centered community is the center of our life,
and reconciliation is the center of our work."
Palmer Becker, August 5, 2005
Christ-centered community is the center of our life,
and reconciliation is the center of our work."
Palmer Becker, August 5, 2005
Concept: Reconciliation is the center of our work!
The work of reconciliation takes all kinds of outward forms, but there’s a common core to God’s reconciliation. That core is what musician Jonathan Reuel calls “life inside the blessing” - living and thinking in a way that centers us in God’s compassionate love. This month we take a look at the Beatitudes, some of Jesus’s words about life inside the blessing.
(Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash)
The work of reconciliation takes all kinds of outward forms, but there’s a common core to God’s reconciliation. That core is what musician Jonathan Reuel calls “life inside the blessing” - living and thinking in a way that centers us in God’s compassionate love. This month we take a look at the Beatitudes, some of Jesus’s words about life inside the blessing.
(Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash)
Read It: Matthew 5:3-11 Blessed are........ (The Beatitudes)
Pray It:
Jesus, you teach us about hope and joy coming even when bad things happen. Thank you for helping us live inside your blessing. Amen.
Jesus, you teach us about hope and joy coming even when bad things happen. Thank you for helping us live inside your blessing. Amen.
Do It:
- “Here’s to you!”: The Greek word that is translated as “Blessed” or “Happy” in most English translations is really hard to translate to English. It’s sort of a congratulatory word - almost like a toast. “Here’s to you!” Try out this phrase with each other. When anyone in your family observes another person acting in a way that looks like “life inside the blessing,” or like showing the love of Jesus to others, themselves, or the earth, give them a “Here’s to you” - or “Way to be,” if that suits you better. For example:
- A child notices a bug and crouches down to watch it: “Here’s to you, when you notice God’s creatures!”
- A spouse brings the other spouse a cup of coffee: “Here’s to you, when you show me love!”
- A family cleans up the table after a meal together: “Here’s to us, when we work together well!”
- A child cries after getting injured: “Here’s to you, when you let God and your family know how you feel!”
- Counterbalance: Part of life inside the blessing is recognizing that God is there in all that we experience. Notice that the first line of each beatitude is not particularly joyful. In fact, it often names something hard, like mourning or being hungry. The second part is about how God meets us and counterbalances what we are experiencing. As a family, find the counterbalances. For example:
- A child has had a bad day and is upset at bedtime: “Blessed are you when you have a bad day, because God will bring a new day tomorrow.”
- A child scrapes a knee: “Blessed are you when you scrape your knee, because God will patch you up with a colorful bandaid.”
- A parent has had enough of children squabbling, and the day isn’t over yet: “Blessed are you when you are frustrated, because God will give you patience and eventually rest.”
- A family faces a major illness: “Blessed are we when we are in pain and feel afraid, because God will surround us with loving community.”
- Create reminders: Read the beatitudes together - or just read Matthew 3:9 (blessed are the peacemakers). Create art inspired by Jesus’s words, reading the passage occasionally as you create. Then hang the creations around the house to remind yourselves that this is a house striving to live within God’s blessing.
Notes from Tami
Take another look at those beatitudes. Some of them mention situations that we would like to avoid! Hopefully, most of our situations are not so dire. But we all (including our children) face stresses, difficulties, and discouraging times. It is easy to get bogged down, causing us to have negative thinking and take on a negative attitude. The beatitudes challenge us to change our thinking and attitude.
(Photo by Zachary Kadolph in Unsplash)
Here are a few ideas for how to put that into practice.
Take another look at those beatitudes. Some of them mention situations that we would like to avoid! Hopefully, most of our situations are not so dire. But we all (including our children) face stresses, difficulties, and discouraging times. It is easy to get bogged down, causing us to have negative thinking and take on a negative attitude. The beatitudes challenge us to change our thinking and attitude.
(Photo by Zachary Kadolph in Unsplash)
Here are a few ideas for how to put that into practice.
