The final beatitudes

I did the word study on the last two beatitudes on Sunday morning when I was up with Dylan, but I could not formulate an intelligent post at that time. So here are those plus the following verses...

Matthew 5:9-12 (NKJV)

"Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

So to start with the first...ugh! Let me just say that here is one more that I am not doing so well at. Some people are natural peacemakers, but honestly, I'm not. But I do want to be called a "son" (or daughter) of God.

The biblical usage definition of peacemaker given is...peacemaker. So I looked it up at Dictionary.com, and their definition is:

A person, group, or nation that tries to make peace, esp. by reconciling parties who disagree, quarrel, or fight.

It's not that I like to cause fights between people; I'm just not very proactive in trying to resolve them if they don't involve me. I'm not sure any person would fault me for that, but God obviously considers it important, so it's something I want to become!

Here's why. The definition of sons of God is:

c) of those whom God esteems as sons, whom he loves, protects and benefits above others
1) in the OT used of the Jews
2) in the NT of Christians
3) those whose character God, as a loving father, shapes by chastisements (Heb. 12:5-8)

d) those who revere God as their father, the pious worshippers of God, those who in character and life resemble God, those who are governed by the Spirit of God, repose the same calm and joyful trust in God which children do in their parents (Rom. 8:14, Gal. 3:26 ), and hereafter in the blessedness and glory of the life eternal will openly wear this dignity of the sons of God. Term used preeminently of Jesus Christ, as enjoying the supreme love of God, united to him in affectionate intimacy, privy to his saving councils, obedient to the Father's will in all his acts

The first bolded statement is how I want God to view me. I want to be pleasing in His sight. To be honestar, I know He loves me, but I'm not sure I'm doing anything especially pleasing to Him...

The second bolded statement is how I want to view God. My mom thinks (okay, knows) I have a, um, control problem. I like to be in control of the situation, especially where my family is involved. Sometimes I actually want to determine the outcome of a situation; most of the time, I just want to know what God has planned so that I can be prepared. But, you know, even when Peyton and Dylan don't know what's going on - in a new situation or something like that - they just hold on to my shoulder or hand, and TRUST me. It's amazing to me how clearly I can see a picture of my relationship with God when I look at my children...that is one that I want to emulate in my relationship with Him.

Okay, so on to the next beatitude...

persecute:
3) in any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one
a) to persecute
b) to be mistreated, suffer persecution on account of something

righteousness:
a) the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God

kingdom of heaven:
used in the N.T. to refer to the reign of the Messiah -and- the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings

I don't feel like I have ever been persecuted because I'm a Christian, so I don't really have anything to stay here. I do pray that if/when the time comes that it happens, that I stand with boldness and courage for my Lord. I think the last two verses go with this one as well, so I don't really have anything else to add.