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For years I had thought of the Sermon on the Mount as a blueprint for human behavior that no one could possibly follow. Reading it again, I found that Jesus gave these words not to cumber us, but to tell us what God is like. The character of God is the [subtext] of the Sermon on the Mount.

Why pray?
   If an earthly father gives his son bread or fish, how much more will the Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.
–Philip Yancey

All of God’s commands reveal His character to us. Therefore, as you read the Bible, read it not only to find out how to live, but to realize more fully the character of the One who instructs you to imitate Him.

Another prayer from 500 years ago that is perfectly relevant for us to pray today:

O Lord my God, You are all my good. And who am I that I should dare to speak to You? I am Your poorest and meanest servant, a vile worm, much more poor and contemptible than I know or dare to say. Yet remember me, Lord, because I am nothing, I have nothing, and I can do nothing. You alone are good, just, and holy. You can do all things, You give all things, You fill all things…. Remember Your tender mercies and fill my heart with Your grace, You who will not allow Your works to be in vain. How can I bear this life of misery unless You comfort me with Your mercy and grace? Do not turn Your face from me. Do not delay Your visitation. Do not withdraw Your consolation, lest in Your sight my soul become as desert land. Teach me, Lord, to do Your will. Teach me to live worthily and humbly in Your sight, for You are my wisdom who knows me truly, and Who knew me even before the world was made and before I was born into it.
–Thomas à Kempis

What you love determines what you feel shame about. If you love for others to applaud you, you will feel shame when they don’t, but if you love for men to make much of Christ you will feel shame when His name is belittled on your account.
–John Piper

We often crave the applause and admiration of others. We serve with the hope of getting a pat-on-the-back, a “job well done,” or an “attaboy” so that we feel good about ourselves. We become people-pleasers so that we can please ourselves by their applause. But as a follower of Christ, I should not be concerned about pleasing anyone but Jesus.

Unfortunately, I love myself too much.
So this sometimes becomes a seemingly impossible task.

I want to be more in love with Jesus.

More of Jesus, less of me.
He must become greater, I must become less.
He must increase, I must decrease.

I hope that with each passing day, I will love for Christ to be exalted more and more. I want to “love for men to make much of Christ.” I hope that I will love Him to a level such that I feel shame anytime His name is belittled on my account… meaning anytime that I commit any sin or refuse to obey Him as He tells me how to live for Him.

May we live in such a way to please Him and do nothing that would be out of character for Christ Himself.

Wouldn’t that be weird – having different levels of Christianity that we could identify? We could place them on a badge and at church people could see that I had made it to level 6. I could puff out my chest around all those who were level 5 and below, but I’d probably feel a little inferior when I stood around someone who was wearing a level 7 badge or above.

While we may be able to reach different levels in games, in work, or in other areas of life, Christianity doesn’t have levels:
“[Different] levels in Christianity” is not a concept built on the gospel of Christ. Levels are only possible if there are levels of righteousness. And those levels simply do not exist, because we all possess the same amount of righteousness — none. The only righteousness any of us have is the righteousness God freely gives to us in Christ.
–Matt Chandler

It has been said another way both in sermons and in songs:
“The ground is level at the foot of the cross.”

And I am so glad that it is!

We don’t have to compare ourselves to one another to determine who is more righteous or more deserving… for all of us stand on the same level ground. We are guilty of sin. We are deserving of wrath. But instead of having to endure it, Jesus was lifted up on the cross drawing us to Himself, and He drank every last drop of the cup of wrath that I deserved. Therefore, He is the only one who is righteous, and I am so glad that He made a way for me to receive forgiveness and stand in His righteousness.

Would a God who took as much pleasure in evil as he did in good be a good God? Would a God who did not react adversely to evil in his world be morally perfect? Surely not. But it is precisely this adverse reaction to evil, which is a necessary part of moral perfection, that the Bible has in view when it speaks of God’s wrath.
–J. I. Packer

We don’t like to talk about God’s wrath. We only want to focus on God’s love. But a God of love necessarily must also be a God of wrath towards anything that attempts to hurt those He loves. It is the same in our own lives. We love our families, but if someone attempts to harm them, then we have a wrath that rises up within us against the attacker. God is no different, in fact, He is the ultimate expression of this as He is ultimate love. Because He loves me so much, He has intense wrath toward any sin I might do because that sin harms both me and others.

Stop trying to argue away God’s wrath, and instead embrace an understanding of His wrath as being a function of His great love for you and for all of His creation. As sin and evil attempt to harm His creation, His wrath rises up against them due to His great love!