I ask myself, “Have I truly repented? Have I truly committed to following Jesus Christ? Am I responding to people and to my circumstances with the character of Christ or am I motivated by my pride? How do I answer? What can I use to evaluate my heart?
This process of transformation is what Paul speaks about in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The caterpillar who aspires to become a butterfly must first dissolve itself, and then the process transforms the old caterpillar into a new creation — the butterfly. The old nature has passed away and the new has come. The caterpillar transforms through a natural process created by God. Our transformation is a supernatural process taking place through the Holy Spirit which is given to us when we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead (Rom 10:9-10).
But the question remains as to how I can evaluate this change. I have found the beatitudes to be reassuring and challenging. Let’s look at these 8 characteristics and examine ourselves in light of these qualities the Lord Jesus is describing.
Blessed are those:
- Who are Poor in Spirit: We come to God with nothing to offer. We have no merit or claim with which to receive any favour from God.We come to God with no attachment to anything in the world that would take our worship of Him away from Him.
- Who Mourn: We mourn because we grieve over the sin that is in the world and in us. We mourn because of its effects and devastation and that it leads to death and separation from God.
- The Meek: We are strong in our faith in God. We are gentle, respectful, and kind. We are humble and not filled with pride.
- Who hunger and thirst for righteousness: We are only satisfied with righteousness and right living.
- The Merciful: We are filled with compassion and forgiveness.
- The Pure in Heart: We do not let lust into our heart. We are unadulterated. We train ourselves to have undivided loyalty to our Lord Jesus Christ.
- The Peacemakers: We pour our energies into reconciliation and not divisiveness.
- Who are Persecuted for Righteousness Sake: We expect to be persecuted when we live out the 7 previous character qualities.
None of these qualities are natural to us. However, we know that we are living in His Spirit when we have a desire to see these qualities pour through our lives and experience them daily.
For myself, I evaluate my heart as I think about these qualities and remind myself to display them in my response to people and to my circumstance. If I am not, I know sin and pride have slithered back and I turn to Jesus to confess my sin and He forgives me and restores my soul. The consequence is the fruit of the Spirit being produced in my life. (See Galatians 5:22-23 for the list). I am blessed because in Jesus I am a new creation.