Luke 6:20-26

What does the Lord require of you and me? 

He wants us to reflect His love for others by executing fairness in our lives and in our laws. He wants us to care for those who cannot care for themselves by providing for them physically not in words but in our actions. He wants us to have empathy, feeling what it is like to be in anthers’ shoes, to feel what they feel and then to react in compassion to their needs and to their fears. He wants us to be forgiving of others and of ourselves. He wants us to remain humbled and in awe of God’s mercy and His grace. He died not only for us but for everyone.

 He wants us to love Him above anyone and to show that love to others including ourselves!

Jesus began His sermon with an attention-grabbing, irony-filled series of blessings that have intrigued and puzzled Bible scholars and laymen for centuries. Often referred to as the Beatitudes, these statements contrast worldly goods and values with a heavenly estimation of people’s affairs. The Beatitudes provide us with a heavenly perspective, evaluating the present in the light of eternity. They remind us that things are not always what they seem, and certainly not what they will one day be.

Luke 6:20-26

²⁰ Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you poor,

For yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now,

For you shall be filled. 

Blessed are you who weep now,

For you shall laugh.

²² Blessed are you when men hate you,

And when they exclude you,

And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,

For the Son of Man’s sake.

²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!

For indeed your reward is great in heaven,

For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich,

For you have received your consolation.

²⁵ Woe to you who are full,

For you shall hunger.

Woe to you who laugh now,

For you shall mourn and weep.

²⁶ Woe to you when all men speak well of you,

For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

⁵ Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 

James 2:5

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 

Matthew 5:6

³ To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” 

Isaiah 61:3

¹⁷ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 

Revelation 7:17