In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus issued a command that reoriented the entire compass of human existence.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Matthew 6:33 This command assures us that when the center holds, everything else falls into place. In the Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6, we also pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Here, the Kingdom of God and doing God’s will are one in the same. We must not, however, confuse the Kingdom of God with the kingdoms of this world. Marred by the noise of ambition, the stain of sin and greed, and the jagged edges of compromise, the world looks to politics, manipulation, and the accumulation of status. The Lord’s Kingdom, conversely, looks not to the height of one’s pedestal, but to the depth of one’s heart. It is not about material conquest, but about the transformation of the human heart and the daily application of spiritual values. To appreciate this Kingdom, we must recognize its dual nature. It possesses an internal reality and an external expression. These two are interconnected, inextricably linked, like the roots and the fruits of a tree. You cannot have one without the other.

Let us first turn our gaze inward. In Matthew, chapter 5,  Jesus lays the foundation for this internal Kingdom. That foundation lies in the Beatitudes, the internal qualities necessary to enter into his Kingdom.

These eight beautiful ways of behaving backtrack to the condition of the human heart and are at the heart of Jesus’s teachings. A person acts as he or she thinks, and the Beatitudes ensure that the right means are adopted in order to follow Christ. It’s possible for someone to do the right thing, but in the wrong way. A prime example of this is Jesus’s story of the Pharisee and the publican who went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee kept all the commandments, but he kept them in the wrong way, looking down self righteously on the publican whom he despised. The publican on the other hand knew he was a Sinner, saying “Lord have mercy on me, a Sinner.” He left the temple more justified than the Pharisee because of his humble attitude which we find in the first Beatitude. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. The Beatitudes challenge us to change our internal dispositions or attitudes, to move away from self righteousness and harsh judgments, to cultivate a heart of purity, humility, peace, compassion, courage, mercy and love. They invite us to let go of our preconceived notions and to see the world the way Christ sees it. To be filled with joy and peace even in the face of persecution, and to be peacemakers, spreading God’s love and hope to all those around us. If you want to appreciate a life based on the Beatitudes, Look no further than to the example of Jesus who embodied them all.

Let us now turn our gaze outward to the external aspects of the Kingdom of God. God’s Kingdom, though spiritual, is not a Kingdom divorced from everyday reality. We are called to be a light to the world by the performance of good deeds, of love and by following the Golden Rule laid down in the Sermon on the Mount. Do unto others what you wish them to do unto you.

Matthew 7:12. The Parable of the Last Judgment, Matthew 25, 31 to 46 emphasizes the importance of doing good deeds for those in need. The love that Jesus talks about is no pie in the sky feeling or sentimental mood or self congratulatory lip service. It is the real thing and consists in helping others, the sick, the lonely, the hungry, the stranger, the homeless, the jobless and the needy in whatever form that takes. People will forget what you said, but they will never forget what you did for them when they were hurting or in need. By doing these good deeds of love, the Lord assures us that it is through these concrete acts of love and mercy that we step fully into His Kingdom. At its core, the Kingdom of God is love. It is kindness, decency, forgiveness and hospitality woven into the fabric of daily life. It is the recognition of the inherent sacred worth of every individual crossing your path, whether through a grand gesture or a small, unnoticed kindness. For what matters most is the disposition behind the deed.

Deciding to put the Kingdom of God first is a countercultural act. It requires courage to choose humility in a world of arrogance, and generosity to help one another in a world of greed.

I’ll be posting on each of these Beatitudes in my future blogs because they are foundational to a Christian way of life and are too important, to be ignored. But for now, know this.

Embracing the Beatitudes within and extending these blessings outward through deeds of love will not only bring joy to your own spirit, it will help heal a fractured world. Please feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.