"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
I was reading this today and thought that I would post it. What does Jesus mean here when He refers to the poor? Does he mean the economically disenfranchised? Or does he mean poor in spirit, or the brother in humble circumstances? What does it mean to hunger now? Is he referring to those who have nothing left to cling to and are conscious and aware of their desperation for Him?
And finally, what actions does one take to get to a place of utter dependence without creating chaos and adversity? Do we pray for humility or ask
God to bring out the flame thrower? Or is their a way that we can seek humility, gratitude, and stay in a place of dependence?
And the scripture goes on..
23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Is it possible to be rich and still live in the Kingdom? And what is rich? 96% of the worlds population does not even own a car, and 50% of the world makes less than 2$ a day. Is it safe to say that if you own a car and make more than minimum wage that you are a rich person? Not if we compare ourselves with everyone else in America. But if you have ever traveled to a third world country, you cant help but noticing that the majority of the world does not live like we do.
One of the traps a lot of people fall into is the idea that "once I make X amount of dollars, I will give more, or I will pursue my dreams."
At what point does rich become rich?
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Chris, I just read up through your first March posting. What a journey you are on! I am humbled and awed by the grace that you are allowing God to pour in and through your life, not just in this cancer experience, but even before that ... and even after it has passed. You are one of my heroes, Chris.
ReplyDeleteHaving just come from (practically) a third world country, I've been asking myself the same question about riches. I found the answer in your blog! We become rich when we realize that although we don't have everything we want, we already have more than we need. You are one of the richest men I know. Thank you for continuing to show me the way.
You and Heather are in my prayers for joy, peace, health, children, ministry, and an ever deepening walk with our Lord Jesus. Blessings on you, man!
By the way, I see you like good preaching. :-) The life you are living is one of the best sermons I've heard in a long time! Rev 12:10-11
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