"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
"Blessed" can also mean "Happy." This beatitude does not mean that people are happy who have a droopy, or sad, spirit, but that they are happy if they understand their need for God, and do not have a proud spirit before God. Because they are humble, and don't think that they are better than other people, God will reward them with a place in His heaven.
What the picture means: I used bees for my bee-attitude pictures. This little bee is wearing a #1 on his shirt because it is the first beatitude. He is showing you that his pockets are empty, so you'll remember "poor in spirit." To help you remember "theirs is the kingdom of heaven," he is sitting on a throne with a crown on his head, and is holding a scepter.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Most teachers think that this beatitude is talking about people who are sad because they know just how much they have done wrong and saddened God. Even the best of people have not always done the right thing, and every little wrong thing makes God sad. But, He is happy when we realize that we have caused Him sadness. If we are truly sad about the times that we have done wrong, then He will comfort us.
What the picture means: In the picture, Bee-attitude #2 is sad because his pet ladybug, Spot, has died. This is to help you remember, "Blessed are those who mourn." To help you remember, "for they shall be comforted," you will see a new pet ladybug flying down to comfort him.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
People who are meek are gentle and patient. God is saying that this is the type of people who He will choose to inherit the blessings of the earth and of heaven.
What the picture means: This bee-attitude number 3 is very gentle, in fact, you may see her blushing just a little because we are all looking at her. She is holding the earth as her inheritance.
"Blessed are the those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
God will bless people who want to do His will so badly that they are almost "hungry and thirsty" to do better every day. God will help them be better, because they want to do what is right so much.
What the picture means: Our bee-attitude #4 is holding a cup full of righteousness, and a bowl full of righteousness. That's not all - he's so hungry and thirsty for righteousness, that he got the Big Gulp size of drink, and he supersized his bowl. God tells us that he will be filled up.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
This beatitude is easy to understand. If we show mercy to others - forgiving them when they hurt us, then God will show mercy to us.
What the picture means: Bee-attitude #5 is showing mercy to the hot, dry flower by watering it. As she does, mercy flows down from heaven to her.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
This beatitude is talking about God's children being pure, not just on the outside, but "in heart." It is not enough to just do the things that God wants us to that other people can see, we must keep our hearts pure as well. To do this, we keep our thoughts on things that God would be happy with. If we do this, then we can see God work in everything around us.
What the picture means: #6 Bee-attitude is holding a big heart, labeled "pure," to help us remember to be "pure in heart." She is also wearing big eyeglasses, to help us remember that this can help us "see god."
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
God likes it when people love each other, and act considerately toward one another. He will bless those who help settle fights, and who bring arguing people back together as friends. God sent Jesus to bring people back to God, and make peace between God and man when man had sinned. Because this is the same thing that God did by sending Jesus, people who do the same thing will be called sons of God.
What the picture means: The bee in bee-attitude #7 is holding a sign that reads "make peace" and a sign with a symbol known as "peace sign." This is to remind you of the "Blessed are the peacemakers," part. He is standing in front of a sign that reads, "God is my Father," to remind you of the, "they shall be called sons of God" part.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus was treated badly for our sake. When we are treated badly for His sake, God will reward us in heaven. This does not mean we are rewarded when bad things happen to us because we have made bad choices, or because of things that do not have anything to do with the fact that we are Christians. However, when people are mean to us just because we are Christians, then God will bless us when we face persecution willingly.
What the picture means: Bee-attitude #8 is reading his Bible, even though people are throwing rocks at him because he is. He is not letting the fact that they are acting badly keep him from doing the right thing. He trusts God. He is wearing a crown to remind us that "theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.
This beatitude has the same meaning as the one before it, it is just stated even more strongly. When we are being treated badly because of obeying God, we should remember all the heroes of the Bible that were also mistreated. It is actually an honor to be persecuted for God.
What the picture means: Our last bee-attitude, #9, is in chains because he believes in Jesus. Even though he is in chains, he is still praying. We can see that others are saying bad things about him - things that are not true. This is to help us remember "revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake." Above, you can see a great reward in heaven. This is to help you remember," Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven."
What these pictures ARE: simply visual study aides to help children remember the beatitudes in order.
What these pictures ARE NOT: a literal pictorial vision of the meaning of the beatitudes. This is why I included a, (hopefully), simple paraphrase of the meaning of each for the children. However, every commentary is different in its interpretation of the meaning of some of the beatitudes, and this is not intended to be the final word on the meaning of the beatitudes.
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