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20And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22“Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23“Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 24“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 25“Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

Woe to all who call good evil and evil good.  Woe to those who mix drinks with abandon.  Woe to those who do not consider the Holiness of God in their daily doings.  Woe to those who live their lives as if there were nothing beyond this place of testing.  Woe to those who consider the testimony of Jesus as a fairy tale.  Woe to those who make no attempt to grasp the meaning of life on this earth.  And woe to those who, after hearing the message of Jesus, turn from it with shrugging shoulders.

Glory and honor, and promise belongs to those who endure for His Name sake.  Blessed is the man who considers the abject horror of his sins.  Blessed is the man who sobs at what he has done contrary to the Word of God.  Blessed is he who hates his life in this world, yet longs for help from He who cannot lie.  Blessed and filled is he who finds the repentance necessary to secure the forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus. 

And Blessed is the Lord for making this place of testing.  He has set the wall between Himself and us with a firm foundation.  There is but one Gate.  And, as the Lord Himself has said, “Few there are who find it.”

By His Grace.