Holiday Family Gathering Coming Up? Let the Beatitudes Quell Your Attitudes

Blessed are the merciful. No mystery here. Forgive, forgive, forgive till it hurts. Why shouldn't you? You're no angel. None of us is. We've all done more wrong things than there are numbers to count them. Forgive everyone in your family. When it comes to our proper relationship to our family members, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do," should be tattooed on our hearts. They didn't know. They couldn't. None of us can. Our only hope is forgive each other the way Christ forgave us all.

Blessed are the pure in heart. Don't let the negative stay with you. When you see something that's nasty or snarky or interested only in itself heading your way, step aside, and let it roll right past. Wave to it as it goes by---and then turn your attention back to the Holy Spirit within you. That is God---who, the Bible tells us, is love. There's the source of your perpetually renewed purity.

Blessed are the peacemakers. It's not possible to feel truly loving and forgiving without then acting upon that feeling. Show that the peace of the Lord is upon you by becoming the means by which others find peace between themselves. You can't force that sort of thing, of course. But if you keep your loving heart open to it, you are guaranteed to find among your family members constant little revelations that, like all people, all they really want is to exist harmoniously with those nearest them. Guide the members of your family back together. Carefully and sensitively minister to their desire for reconciliation. Be bold about it, too: don't be afraid to out-and-out suggest to someone whom they should forgive what, and exactly why. Sometimes you really do have to make peace. Whatever it takes. But you be the one to do it. And you start it, too: share with members of your family why you're so pleased to take full responsibility for something that in the past went wrong between you and them. So what if it's not really that cut and dried? It's close enough. Let go of the wrong that tries to claim you as its own. Make peace.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. Being truly right and loving can be truly lonely. So what? You don't serve God because it feels good, or because of the great rewards that come with sacrifice. You serve God's will because you know it's the right and best thing to do. And sometimes that hurts. Which is fair: a sacrifice that feels good, after all, is no sacrifice at all. The devil takes a very acute interest in the person who aligns himself with God. You know that---so prepare for it. And how do you do that? By not even trying to fight the ever-wily devil yourself, but rather getting out of the way, and allowing God to bring the full measure of himself against Mr. Horny Head. That you will be persecuted on account of your aligning yourself with righteousness isn't in question. The question is whether or not you can continue to feel blessed whilst that persecution is under way. And the quickest, surest way to do that is to remember how horribly Christ was treated. The simple, healing truth is that we are most like Christ when we are being persecuted the most. So don't worry if your family, for instance, in any way derides you for your belief and faith in God. Just smile--and laugh, even, as you acknowledge the validity of how your passion for God must look to them. Just remain with the Lord, and like day follows night he'll lead you back into Eden.

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Email: johnshore@sbcglobal.net