In continuation of this article on God’s Portrait of a Blessed Life, we shall be looking at three more qualities of the blessed life as discussed below.

The Blessed Life – Contented in God, Possessing the Earth  

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought – Matthew 5:5MSG

As Christ continues His teaching on the blessed life, He draws our attention to the need to be contented with who we are. Contentment in this context also refers to being meek, mild, patient, or long-suffering as presented by other versions of the Bible. The charge here is to live in utmost satisfaction with where God has brought us in life. We are not to live in competition with the world, be anxious, or be under any form of pressure to make it in life. Living contented lives entails living a life of gratitude as we fix our gaze on God, and totally trust Him to fulfill His promises to us. 

Living contented lives entails living a life of gratitude as we fix our gaze on God, and totally trust Him to fulfill His promises to us.

The reward of the meek and contented we are told is that they become proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. When we patiently hope in the Lord, He will give us freely the things the Gentiles (world) spend their whole life chasing after. On this, the Apostle Paul cautioned young Timothy, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” – 1Timothy 6:6-7. Also, to the Philippian Christians, he testified, “Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am” – Philippians 4:11AMP. 

Are you discontent with how God has made you? Do you desire to be like someone else? Or to be a citizen of another country? Learn from Paul today, and be thankful to God for who you are, and where you are, even as you trust Him to take you farther in life. By so doing, you will become a proud owner of everything that can’t be bought – possessing the earth. This indeed is a true mark of the blessed life.

The Blessed Life: A Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled – Matthew 5:6

Righteousness is the work of grace, and it is more appreciated when we hunger and thirst for it. God desires that each day of our lives is lived in the desire to maintain a right stand with Him. Each day presents to us new challenges and temptations to practice unrighteousness, therefore, the need to hunger and thirst after God’s righteousness continuously. To be hungry and thirsty for God’s righteousness is to have a constant desire to please God; it is to be persuaded against all odds to be well pleasing to God irrespective of the circumstances we find ourselves (Romans 8:38-39).

Are you presently going through a battle that demands you to compromise your faith? “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” – Matthew 6:33. All these things include victory in the battle of your faith. Christ has promised to satisfy our hunger and thirst for righteousness. And this He does by giving us grace that is commensurate to every challenge of life to stand out for Him because where sin abounds, grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20). 

Choosing to walk in righteousness is choosing to walk in peace, quietness, and assurance forever; no life or nation will know peace unless they seek to walk in righteousness.

Now “Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace” – Psalms 37:37. Every righteous man has a future of peace, and righteousness brings peace. The Prophet Isaiah also confirmed this truth as God spoke through him thus, “The work of righteousness will be peace and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever” – Isaiah 32:17. Choosing to walk in righteousness is choosing to walk in peace, quietness, and assurance forever; no life or nation will know peace unless they seek to walk in righteousness.  This is a notable feature of the blessed life.

The Blessed Life: The Merciful

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy – Matthew 5:7

It is scriptural that whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7-8). This is also true with mercy as shown by the teaching of Christ on the mount. Christ taught that we are blessed when we show mercy; the reward is reaping mercy in return. The Apostle Paul also corroborated Christ’s teaching when he wrote to the Ephesian Church, “And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” – Ephesians 4:32AMP.

If we sow mercy, we shall also reap mercy as taught by Christ. Life is short and is not meant to be lived for ourselves, but for Christ and others’ welfare. According to the Prophet Hosea, when we sow in righteousness, we will reap in mercy (Hosea 10:12). For no man ever reaps what he has not sown, but every man reaps according to that which he has sown. Christ further illustrates his teaching on mercy by the parable of the unmerciful servant, and His conclusion was, “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” “So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” – Matthew 18:32-33, 35. 

If our prayers and sacrifices must gain ascendency, and if we must obtain mercy from God and others, then we must show mercy.

Indeed, prayer will be an effort in futility without showing mercy to our fellow humans. If our prayers and sacrifices must gain ascendency, and if we must obtain mercy from God and others, then we must show mercy. Sow mercy from today, and you will reap mercy in return. This is a true identity of the blessed life.

To be continued…