“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Mathew 5:10

This does not refer to God’s righteousness, but to suffering for the sake of a righteous cause, suffering because of the righteous judgment and action of Jesus’ disciples. In judgment and action those who follow Jesus will be different from the world in renouncing their property, happiness, rights, righteousness, honor, and violence. They will be offensive to the world. That is why the disciples will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Not recognition, but rejection will be their reward from the world for their word and deed. It is important that Jesus calls his disciples blessed, not only when they directly confess his name, but also when they suffer for a just cause.          DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

Satan attacked Job's motives, saying that Job was blameless and had integrity only because he had no reason to turn against God. Satan wanted to prove that Job worshiped God not out of love but because God had given him so much. Satan accurately analyzed why many people trust God. They are fair-weather believers, following God only when everything is going well or for what they can get. Adversity destroys this kind of superficial faith. But adversity strengthens real faith by causing believers to dig their roots deeper into God in order to withstand storms. How deep does your faith go? Put the roots of your faith down deep into God so that you can withstand any storm you may face. Job 1:9 & 10 

 (Life Application Study Bible)

These people without possessions, these strangers, these powerless, these sinners, these followers of Jesus live with him now also in the renunciation of their own dignity, for they are merciful. As if their own need and lack were not enough, they share in other people’s need, debasement, and guilt. They have an irresistible love for the lowly, the sick, for those who are in misery, for those who are demeaned and abased, for those who suffer injustice and are rejected, for everyone in pain and anxiety. They seek out all those who have fallen into sin and guilt. No need is too great, no sin too dreadful for mercy to reach. The merciful give their own honor to those who have fallen into shame and take that shame unto themselves. They may be found in the company of tax collectors and sinners and willingly bear the shame of their fellowship. Disciples give away anyone’s greatest possession, their own dignity and honor, and show mercy. They know only one dignity and honor, the mercy of their Lord, which is their only source of life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Disciples live with not only renouncing their own rights, but even renouncing their own righteousness. They get no credit themselves for what they do and sacrifice.

The only righteousness they can have is in hungering and thirsting for it. They will have neither their own righteousness nor God’s righteousness on earth. At all times they look forward to God’s future righteousness, but they cannot bring it about by themselves. Those who follow Jesus will be hungry and thirsty along the way. They are filled with longing for forgiveness of all sins and for complete renewal; they long for the renewal of the earth and for God’s perfect justice.     DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

Every additional Beatitude deepens the breach between the disciples and the people. The disciples’ call becomes more and more visible. Those who mourn are those who are prepared to renounce and live without everything the world calls happiness and peace. They are those who cannot be brought into accord with the world, who cannot conform to the world. They mourn over the world, its guilt, its fate, and its happiness…. No one understands people better than Jesus’ community. No one loves people more than Jesus’ disciples․that is why they stand apart, why they mourn; it is meaningful and lovely that Luther translates the Greek word for what is blessed with “to bear suffering.” The important part is the bearing. The community of disciples does not shake off suffering, as if they had nothing to do with it. Instead they bear it. In doing so, they give witness to their connection with the people around them. At the same time this indicates that they do not arbitrarily seek suffering, that they do not withdraw into willful contempt for the world. Instead, they bear what is laid upon them and what happens to them in discipleship for the sake of Jesus Christ. Finally, disciples will not be weakened by suffering, worn down, and embittered until they are broken. Instead, they bear suffering, by the power of him who supports them. The disciples bear the suffering laid on them only by the power of him who bears all suffering on the cross. As bearers of suffering, they stand in communion with the Crucified. They stand as strangers in the power of him who was so alien to the world that it crucified him.      DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

In I Corinthians 11:1 the apostle Paul urges us to be imitators of God, our heavenly Father. But how are we to imitate a God we cannot see? Are we to dress like Jesus’ dressed, or does this admonition go much deeper?

What’s at the Core

Quite simply, the goal of every Christian is to become more Christlike—after all, the very word “Christian” denotes “a Christ follower.” Paul tells us, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children” (Eph. 5:1). We should heed his exhortation and earnestly desire to be like Jesus in every way. Paul also writes, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). When I think about this, I wonder exactly what Paul meant by “imitate.” Does this mean that we should wear the same style toga and sandals that Jesus wore? Does this mean we should only eat kosher foods?

Probably not.

In fact, I think it is obvious that Paul is speaking about following Jesus’ example in terms of his mission, values, motivation, priorities, thinking, teaching, and attitude. In other words, being imitators of Christ is something that stems from the inner core of our being. This occurs when who we are on the inside begins to be transformed as we become more like him and have his heart and mind. The internal change in turn is reflected in the way we speak, think, and act.

The crucial component we need to understand is that imitating Christ begins with developing a strong spiritual core. If we simply try to imitate Christ’s external behavior—being kind, compassionate, and merciful without strengthening our spiritual core—then we risk missing out on the very process that makes us Christlike. We end up acting like a Christian sometimes, but not truly being a Christian at all times.

Think about Jesus: His actions stemmed from who he was. Thedoing part flowed naturally from Jesus being authentically Jesus. This being stemmed from his spiritual core. In other words, Jesus did not try to act like anything he was not. Therefore, if we are to be imitators of Christ, we need to stop trying to act like Christians (external actions) and instead focus on being a Christian at our core (internal transformation). When this becomes our focus, we will discover that it’s not difficult to act like a Christian, because we simply will be one. Period.

Point to Ponder

It’s easy to act like a Christian when you are at church. But who are you for the rest of the week? Has your encounter with Christ transformed you at your core? Do you know that God wants to be actively involved in every aspect of your life?      CHRISTINE CAINE  

Do not worry! Earthly goods deceive the human heart into believing that they give it security and freedom from worry. But in truth, they are what cause anxiety. The heart which clings to goods receives with them the choking burden of worry. Worry collects treasures, and treasures produce more worries. We desire to secure our lives with earthly goods; we want our worrying to make us worry-free, but the truth is the opposite. The chains which bind us to earthly goods, the clutches which hold the goods tight, are themselves worries.

Abuse of earthly goods consists of using them as a security for the next day. Worry is always directed toward tomorrow. But the goods are intended only for today in the strictest sense. It is our securing things for tomorrow which makes us so insecure today. It is enough that each day should have its own troubles. Only those who put tomorrow completely into God’s hand and receive fully today what they need for their lives are really secure. Receiving daily liberates me from tomorrow. DIETRICH BONHOEFFER