O, the bliss of being a Christian!

General Facts on Beatitudes[1]                                                                                      

1.  Beatitudes are not pious hopes of what shall be. The blessedness which belongs to the Christian is not a blessedness which is postponed to some future world of glory; it is a blessedness which exists here and now. It is not something which the Christian will enter; it is something which a Christian has entered. True, it will find its fullness and its consummation in the presence of God, but for all that it is a present reality to be enjoyed here and now. The very form of the beatitudes is the statement of the joyous thrill and radiant gladness of Christian life.
2. The word blessed which is used in each of the beatitudes comes from the Greek word Makarios, which specially describes the gods. In Christianity there is a divine and godlike joy. The beatitudes speak of that joy which seeks us through our pain, that joy which sorrow and loss, and pain and grief, are powerless to touch, that joy which shines through tears, and which nothing in life or death can take away.
3. The world can win its joys, and the world can equally well lose its joys. A change in fortune, a collapse in health, the failure of a plan, the disappointment of an ambition, even a change in the weather, can take away the fickle joy the world can give. But the Christian has the serene and untouchable joy which comes from walking forever in the company and in the presence of Jesus Christ.

真福八端所說的真福，不是什麼「將來的」或是「遙不可及」的許諾，它就在「眼前」，就在「現在」。真福八端是一個幸福的存在，此時此地。它不是一種基督徒在將來會進入的門, 而是基督徒現在已經進入了。 雖然它在天主的存在才能獲得圓滿和完善，但對於所有的，是一個目前的現實，現在和在這裡可以享受的。幸福的真形式在於喜樂的基督徒生活。

(c/o pebblesministry.blogspot.com)

真福八端的這個「福」字，的確「富有非比」尋常的意義，希臘原文叫 “Makarios”，它是指只有神才能夠享受的那種福氣。在基督教形容了一種神聖的喜悅。它是那種內心深處所感受的幸福，它不受任何外來的因素干擾, 是那種連痛苦,悲傷和損失都無能為力去觸摸的歡樂，並沒有在生活或死亡可以奪走的幸福，因為它的根種植在永遠不變的天父身上。

這個世界可以贏得它的樂趣，和世界同樣也可以失去的歡樂。比如說一個改變命運，健康崩潰，失敗的計劃，失望的野心，甚至是天氣的變化，可以帶走變幻無常的世界能給予的喜悅。但基督徒的平靜和不可熄滅的喜悅來自我們與耶穌基督同行, 都會永遠存在。

(c/o wists.com)

中國人所講的有福氣的人──就是有【五福】。1.壽：長命百歲之意。2.富：多財多子之意。3.康寧：身體健康，心靈安寧之意。4.修好德：所好者德之意。5.考終命：善終之意（死也要好好地死）.

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[1] The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1 (The Daily Study Bible), William Barclay, The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh.