Roadmap to Heaven

Abbreviations and Buzzwords seem to be everywhere these days... I can't seem to get through the day without someone emailing me a "LOL", "IMHO", or "BTW". It's even worse when there is direct dialog, because there's about a 99% certainty that someone's going to throw out a "Leverage", "Best Practice", or "Think outside of the box". Yeah, you know what I'm talking about, right? :)

Oops... there I go with the famous and greatly overused smiley face. :) :) :)

OK, at this point you might be asking yourself, so how does this relate to Jesus Christ?

Well, Jesus had his own arsenal of buzz words that He "leveraged" on a daily basis. Unlike the buzz words of today that enter and fade with the passing of fads, we have the comfort of knowing that the words of Jesus will endure the test of time.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Mark 13:31

Jesus frequently used one word in particular... "Blessed"

If I were to look up the word "Blessed" in the dictionary, I would run across this definition:

Blessed: divinely or supremely favored; fortunate.

Wouldn't everyone want to be blessed in some way? I can't reasonably say that I know anyone who wouldn't want to be blessed.

Now the question becomes... How do I find favor with God? What do I need to do to remain obedient and be pleasing in the eyes of God? Well it's easy to get overwhelmed with trying to find a single answer to this question. Let's face it, the Bible is big book and there are thousands of passages we could underline, highlight, and memorize that would help. However, there is one particular event in the Bible that, to me, sums up the path to Heaven. Let's call it the "Roadmap to Heaven" as they would probably say in the business world.

This one significant event was The Sermon on the Mount. It's where Jesus preached of the Kingdom of Heaven. It's the third decade of the Luminous mysteries of the Rosary. "The Announcement of the Kingdom."

During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus introduced the Beatitudes (which means blessed or happy in Latin) to all of us and each teaching begins with the word "Blessed."

Here are the Beatitudes:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt5:3-12

In conclusion, when I think of a question like, "What's the roadmap to Heaven?" I think of the Beatitudes. This is because Jesus clearly outlines the way we should act, think, and live in nine loving statements. He shares the secret with us.

Personally, I felt the Beatitudes were so important that I memorized them and now recite them on a daily basis. It really doesn't take long to memorize, it just takes some determination and a little repetition. IMHO :)

See you can't get through anything these days without an abbreviation/buzz word!

God Bless you. And this is for His Glory!