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Why not today?


When is the best day of your life?  No, the previous question is not a grammatical mistake.  Although most people would ask when “was” the best day of your life, I’m asking when “is.”  When we follow Jesus, today IS the best day of our life.  The glorious ability to follow Jesus in love and grace means that the delights of today can be beyond anything of our past.

Following Jesus produces delight.  The beatitudes, statements of Jesus found in Matthew 5:1-12, remind us of this delight from our good fortune of being blessed to follow the Lord.  The Greek word makarios that we often translate as blessed means more than we think.  It means happy / fortunate.  My translation into English would be: being delighted due to good fortune.  So, the beatitudes of Jesus would translate into English as:
Delighted are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Delighted are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Delighted are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Delighted are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Delighted are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Delighted are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Delighted are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Delighted are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for their is the kingdom of heaven.
Delighted are those when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Following Jesus produces delight in our good fortune.  When we follow Jesus, we become like the prophets of old living in alignment with God’s will.  Even those things that are most difficult in life become transformed when we follow the Lord.  Following Jesus, we face challenges and struggles as we love and care for others.  It is no coincidence that this list emerges in Matthew after the disciples have been called and are following Jesus.  Following Jesus is messy and loving people into the possibilities of what grace can do is difficult.  But, those who follow Jesus will have despair turned to joy and sadness moved to delight.  For by God’s power and not theirs, the world will be redeemed.  When we try even a little, God will show up and show out in ways beyond what we can even comprehend.  God will be present in ways that bring delight even in the midst of our despair.

So, not matter where you find yourself today.  Do you realize that allowing yourself to follow Jesus can make today the most amazing day of your life?   What if you did what those earliest disciples did?  Can we even fathom what it might mean to wholly trust in Jesus and take the promises of the Lord at face value and follow?  How would following Jesus with your whole heart transform you?

Letting go of our past and following Jesus may seem difficult, but the promise of Scripture is that there is delight in that simple path.  All you have to do is love.  There is a delight in doing things for the Lord.  Immediately, our current relationships become transformed.  All of our tasks, no matter how mundane, become holy.  You don’t have to become a preacher or professional Christian.  All you have to do is follow Jesus, where ever that may lead.

When we do, blessed/delighted are we.  Where we find ourselves loosing hope, our Spirits are renewed.  Where we feel like mourning, we are reminded of the joy that is to come.  Where we are feel meek, we know who loves the world so much that they are redeeming all of it.  When we hunger for righteousness, we know who is pleased.  When we show mercy, we know why and are delighted by the mercy that Jesus showed us.  And yes, even our purity is renewed, not by our efforts but by the grace of a God who loves us so much that we a given rapturous delight!

When is the best day of your life?  Let it be today as you follow Jesus.

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