Part 2 of Online Dating with a focus on Not stringing people along, How many you should date at any one time, ending contacts in the online world when you’ve met someone, and ending contacts without ghosting anyone
Tag: virtue
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God
What is a peacemaker? – It is not just an absence of war – It’s linked to justice – peacemakers have to be rooted in justice -what is owed to another person, and to God. Jesus is the perfect peacemaker, because he came to offer his life and death as a sacrifice to make right what was wronged against God, and to heal our relationship with one another. The prince of peace.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
We’re culturally quick to assume this beatitude speaks only about sexual purity. We live in a highly sexualised world – AND we have a Christian world that has hyper focused on ‘what not to do’ with our bodies, and has forgotten ‘what to do, to tend to our hearts’.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy
Our Christian faith hinges on Mercy. God didn’t give us what we deserve, he gifts us mercy. Do we give others better than they deserve? or do we look to get even? to act from a place of self-entitlement? If there is anything we should be known for, it’s people who are merciful, because we follow the model set before us in Christ, our merciful saviour.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled
Do we notice what someone is owed and hunger for them to receive that?
These include all the major fights for justice we know about – fighting for life, and for freedom, against enslavement of all kinds in countries where it’s obvious the vulnerable are held to work and do things against their will, and in the western world, the vulnerable secretly held trapped in certain life styles resulting from human trafficking
3. Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the earth
As with most things with God, those unattached to earthly power are the same ones who are promised they shall inherit the earth. This makes intuitive sense when we look at gifting someone something that is beautiful and to be cared for. We wouldn’t want to give it to the person who is going to wield their power over it and push it to destruction, but instead gift it to the one who is disinterested in having power over it, and instead is meek enough to accept the gift and to want to care for it.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
There is no goodness to be found in crying in and of itself. It’s when we cry (as a response to compassion) for something or for someone that it takes on meaning.
The Beatitude Series – 1. Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
On the Living Fullness Podcast we have begun a series on the Beatitudes and exploring how each of these bring the commandments to fulfilment, creating a path of abundance in this life and the next. This episode particularly focuses on the 1st Beatitude and the various detachments we need to have including what Thomas Aquinas mentions as needing to ‘Despise what Jesus despised on the Cross, and Love what Jesus loved on the Cross’. These detachments include putting all else to the service of God, and ensuring we have our hearts and minds rightly ordered.
Being the Christian friend
As Christians in our daily life, it’s easy to be critical of our secular modern world. It can leave a lot to be desired when we see so many people treat each other so poorly and passionately deny our God. Some – even those we thought were our friends – […]
Emily likens Hope to a bird
This poem is one of the most famous pieces of work by Emily Dickinson. Emily was an American woman whose creative talents weren’t revealed to the world until after her death. Her words are so reflective and honest about her experience of Hope that they might be just what people […]