The Beatitudes and their explanation.
The beatitudes are eight statements taught by Jesus. They are concerned with virtue and how a believer in Jesus Christ can achieve that virtue. The Beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives helping us on our journey to be with God. They also designate the actual condition of people who follow God's guidelines.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In the book it states, We are poor in spirit when we recognize that everything we are and everything we have are pure gifts from God. This means that we should help others because we understand that if God hadn't given us the gifts we would be poor to.
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted." We mourn when we are sorrowful over a sinful world and over our own sins. We are saddened over injustice-children who are homeless and hungry; people denied basic human rights like the right to life, economic opportunity; people whose lives are tragically shattered because of drug abuse, misused sexuality, prejudice, war, and so on. This will help us act and help the people we see in trouble. We can help people come to the way of God.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land." We are the meek when we accept others with compassion and gentility. This will change the world and make it a better place. If act with kindness towards other people then the people will be kind to other people, and eventually the world will change.
"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied." We hunger and thirst for righteousness when we desire and work for God's ways above all else. We start doing this by telling other people about...
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