The Beatitude Life

We have been living as if the most important things about us are what we perform before others, and it’s making us miserable and anxious. Jesus tells us that the most important things in life are done in secret, before the Father, who loves us simply because he loves us.

One counterargument to this might go like this: “Yes, but doesn’t Jesus also say, ‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’” (Matthew 5:16)? Yes, he does. Why, then, would he say just a few passages later (in the same sermon!) that we ought to practice our good works in secret? Which is it—practice your life in public to be seen by others, or resist that line of thinking and keep your life secret before God?

On the surface, these two verses seem to contradict each other. Either Jesus forgot what he just said and is confused, or he is misleading us and shouldn’t be trusted. Well, don’t worry—there’s a third option.

When Jesus tells us to practice our lives in secret, he is talking about our virtues—giving to the poor, praying, and fasting; things we might be tempted to perform before others to look impressive. But in Matthew 5:16, when he calls us to shine our works before others in such a way that they’ll see and glorify God, he has just finished unveiling the Beatitudes (vv. 3–12): Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who are meek, those who mourn, those who are persecuted, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and those who are slandered for Christ’s sake.

You can give to the poor, pray, and fast outwardly, but inwardly the substance of your life can still be based on pretense. You can do all these wonderful acts of virtue and still be a hypocrite. But poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, joy in suffering, and endurance of slander form substance that is deeper than outward impressiveness. Living this beatitude life will produce a kind of attraction that glorifies God rather than you. In other words, it’s hard to perform the Beatitudes. Jesus isn’t concerned about performative meekness; he’s concerned about performative prayer and performative justice.

But the Beatitudes Jesus describes in Matthew 5:3–12 do not just grow from nowhere. A heart that can rejoice in slander must first learn to resist the praise of others and live in secret with the Father. Jesus lived out this pattern in his own life. In John 2:1–11, after he turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana and performed many great signs, a large crowd began to believe in and follow him (v. 23). But John’s gospel shows us how Jesus responded: “But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people” (v. 24).

We tend to think this verse is primarily about what’s inside a person. And it certainly is about that! The rest of John’s gospel shows the frailty of our beliefs. But it also reveals what’s inside Jesus: He “did not entrust himself to them.” Jesus knew how to practice the principle of Matthew 6, resisting the world’s praise. He entrusted himself to something deeper than man’s approval—a deeper reward, so to speak. It’s almost as if Jesus is singing Psalm 102 to himself: “They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment . . . You are the same, and your years have no end” (vv. 26–27).

If you consider the end of John’s gospel when the praises of man were no more and the people cried, “Crucify him!” and wanted to exchange his life for that of Barabbas, Jesus could quietly embrace the cross because his life never depended on the praise of others. And so when Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him (Matthew 16:24), this pattern of not entrusting ourselves to others must be deep within us.

Do you see? Jesus had a heart that could endure the cross and be slandered for righteousness’ sake because his heart was hidden in secret with the Father who loved him. The heart that takes these small crucifying steps of learning how to resist praise from others can be formed into a heart that follows Christ—even (or especially) when it costs us deeply.

I want to emphasize that these are small crucifying steps. The work of unwinding our hearts is difficult and slow. It’s remarkable that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus doesn’t instruct us toward grand or famous acts of faith and courage, just ordinary spiritual obedience done in a hidden way. But even so, practicing these ordinary things—these small crucifying steps—in a hidden, intentional way has a transformative effect.

—John Starke, The Secret Place of Thunder: Trading Our Need to Be Noticed for a Hidden Life with Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2023). Available from Christian Book, Logos, and everywhere else books are sold.

 

“An Expensive Training Watch”

“My goal is an expensive training watch,” Kari heard Dutch announce over dinner last Spring.

All year I taught a physical education (P.E.) class on Mondays for middle and high school students. It was lots of fun, and especially a learning lesson for this coach. During the year Dutch gained strength, endurance, confidence, coordination, and became a friend of exertion. Attitude is essential to this course, and weekly I extolled to all in public, and to Dutch in private, the value of a good effort, exertion, proper form, and enjoyment of sport and games. Most of what we did was get moving through warmup, games, introduced the fundamental aspects of a few sports, learning the necessary skills, rules, and working on those in an environment of grace. For many of these kids this was the first foray into organized sports of sorts, having not participated on teams in the usual leagues. Seeing their enjoyment of exercise, being kids at play, was fulfilling as a tutor and coach. This brief introduction to playing catch, not only enjoying a few sports (many of their choosing), but also to gain confidence in playing them.

The most frequently played game was one I invented on a whim to make use of the painted lines in the parking lot, with a triangle at one end. Tri-Ball was born and this fast-paced game of catch and goal-scoring on teams (think ultimate frisbee with the disk traded for a small rubber ball) got them moving rain or shine. After a warmup, a hilly walk-then-run course, self-checking heart rates and a short lesson/lecture outlining the rules or effect of exercises, we played games, learned the day’s new skill — how to hold a basketball, aim, shoot, and follow-through; the “windows” for catching a soft football; ways to place that kickball were the defense cannot catch it; making contact with a level swing in wiffle ball — or added on to their expanding skill set (a bounce pass after dribbling a basketball, how to stand and move fluidly when throwing a ball). Rather quickly our hour was almost up.

The last request of every P.E. class? “Can we play tag?!” Ultimate tag is a favorite (everyone’s “it”), sometimes borg tag, until class was complete.

After a few months, I gave instruction in how to set a fitness goal and the related emphases of exertion, sustained effort, then rest, and recovery. We talked about “polarity,” such as a hard effort followed by an easy or restful day, rather than going all-out over-and-over. Teens need rest, plenty of it. Changing paces, or “shifting gears” is a rare ability for people of all ages, so we worked on that in the by and by. Their fitness goals ranged from a custom training plan for pushups for a few who chose that path, consistency on wake-up times to do chores, a short workout, and eating a healthy breakfast. Others focused on walking hills 3x/week for others, to keeping a log of sleep and nutrition. Each student set their sights on an end goal, a timeline, and how to go about keeping track of progress. Let the training begin.

Dutch’s first goal? “To tag four people in one game.”

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Blogging Excellence: Building One Another Up and Lifting Christ Higher

A new book drops today, yes on Election Day. Its impact will be considerable as well, for words carry weight. How one wields their words speaks much about their motivations, goals, and the gains of connections made to others.

This new book is Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World by Benjamin Vrbicek and John Beeson.

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Travelogue: Six Weeks

Hello! We made it through wildfires, an unbelievable two weeks, yet the fires are still burning (and will for months, even underground). Fires fizzle out, people endure with hope, and life moves on. In 2020 more than one person has remarked with anticipation how “______ (every-thing) will change on election day”! For us all will surely change, as our next son is due that day, almost six weeks from now. Of course, we cannot schedule when this baby arrives, yet can steward our energies (and emotions) to be the most helpful in our home, church, work, communities, all of life.

Four things and some travelpixels for this week’s travelogue:

1) Are You Able to Help?

A college friend was in a horrific car wreck yesterday and remains in critical care and an induced coma. Jake and his twin brother Josh are truly two of the most able-bodied men I’ve ever met, seemingly as fit in their forties as they were as wrestlers at OSU. All that changed for Jake this week.

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Travelogue: Essentials

Hello! It’s been quite a season, and this week we resume a feature that debuted months ago. A travelogue is “a movie, book, or illustrated lecture about the places visited and experiences encountered by a traveler.” While traveling the Interwebs, here’s what I’ve encountered recently (or not-so-recently), and commend to you. Here are some essentials for the journey.

So Many Options!

Barry Cooper – Beware the god of Open Options:

He kills our relationships, because he tells us it’s better not to become too involved. He kills our service to others because he tells us it might be better to keep our weekends to ourselves. He kills our giving because he tells us these are uncertain financial times and you never know when you might need that money. He kills our joy in Christ because he tells us it’s better not to be thought of as too spiritual.”

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I am bound to speak well of my Physician

An excerpt from a letter by John Newton, penned on June 2, 1772. The last three-quarters of this personal correspondence was shared at the close of my video sermon this past Sunday: Patiently Building Up One Another Until Jesus Returns (Sunday, July 12th) on 1st Thessalonians 5:1-15.

The illness under which I have labored so long, is far from being removed. Yet I am bound to speak well of my Physician—He treats me with great tenderness, and bids me in due time to expect a perfect cure. I know too much of Him (though I know but little) to doubt either His skill or His promise.

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Travelogue: Coming of Age.

Continuing a new feature; a travelogue is “a movie, book, or illustrated lecture about the places visited and experiences encountered by a traveler.” While traveling the Interwebs, here’s what I’ve encountered the last couple of weeks and commend to you.

Make Habits > Resolutions

“For me, establishing habits is far more effective than setting goals,” Kari wrote this week, highlighting five habits that have impacted her the most:

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Travelogue: Friday Four.

Starting a new feature, one that I hope serves you as much as it helps me. Each week I read widely, in print and online, and only occasionally share links on social media. This Friday Four will be a quick endeavor to illuminate helpful articles, links, videos, books, and quotes that deserve to be read all the more. I’ve visited as a traveler and guide you back to them. A travelogue is “a movie, book, or illustrated lecture about the places visited and experiences encountered by a traveler.” While traveling the Interwebs, here’s what I’ve encountered this week and commend to you.

(Why four and not five? Because four is a superior number.)

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Happy work is best done …

“Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment ‘as to the Lord.’ It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.”
—C.S. Lewis, “Learning in Wartime” (1939)


 

Forty, man.

It takes enduring courage and generosity to learn about an injustice and remain committed to seeking the best solutions for others over the long-haul. I want to keep becoming that quality of man

To celebrate my 40th birthday I’ll be doing a triathlon as a fundraiser for Next Generation Ministries (NGM), aka the FortyMan 40.3. (Due to recent bike crash, I hope to race later this Summer; birthday is June 17th, also Father’s Day this year.)

In forty words, here’s my WHY:

Which one hugs today: Apathy or Angst?
What if both try their worst?
Duty and pleasure are friends not foes,
Honor and risk-taking as well.
Find the best motivation: Love produces Hope.
How about you? Let’s make Forty unlonely, man.

How you can join in » see FortyMan fundraiser. Continue reading


 

If your life were a sentence, how would it read?

Sacred Mundane: an Invitation to Find Freedom, Purpose, and Joy from Jeff & Kari Patterson on Vimeo.

What if the key to extraordinary life change is waiting for you within the ordinary life you already live?
What if it’s been right in front of you all along?

Change can be difficult, but nothing is harder than being stuck in life. This book is an invitation to live unstuck. To find freedom, purpose, and joy. To see every aspect of life what what it really is: an opportunity to see, know, love, and be utterly transformed by a great and glorious God.
Sacred Mundane is now available wherever books are sold. Grateful to God for my wife who wrote this excellent book. (Officially releases today!)


 

The very best place for you to know and love God is …

“Relentlessly, graciously, He moves through every mundane moment of our lives, using all that is ordinary to transform us into glory. He replaces bondage with freedom, apathy with purpose, despondency with joy. All in the midst of our regular routines. This is what pleases God.”
—Kari Patterson (Sacred Mundane)

“Sacred Mundane” is the theme of our home, the soundtrack of our lives, the drum beat of Kari’s heart. It’s more than a book (or a blog), it’s a shorthand way of saying we’re following Jesus in every square inch of our lives in every square inch of His world. Since it’s all His, let us happily live like it.

Last weekend we joined some dear friends for a “Mountain High, Valley Low” conference, helping post-college grads make sense of why we live in the “valley lows” while longing for the defining and exhilarating highs of mountain-top experiences with God.

Wish I had some photos to share of our time with some people we’ve known since the real life beginning of this journey into the Sacred Mundane (hey Scott & AJ!). For the conference our friend Jeremiah Wilson captured and edited this video, where Kari gives the essence of Sacred Mundane, distilled for a strategy for real life:

(Proud husband smile.)

Sacred Mundane the book officially releases July 25th, and can be pre-ordered on Amazon, or purchased wherever books are sold. All net proceeds will be donated to World Vision for the flourishing of women and children especially in developing communities.