Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.”
Jesus. Luke 6:20. Hi, it’s Nathan, and this is Day 3 of 30 Days Reflecting on the Kingdom. Youch. You mean the rich and famous aren’t the key figures in Jesus’ kingdom? Apparently not. Do they have a place? Perhaps. But only to the extent that power, fame, money do not define them. This is a kingdom of the poor precisely because these are the ones most open to an alternative way of doing life. For those already struggling to survive, it’s much easier to recognize and embrace a better way. But for those of us benefitting from the way things are, it’s quite a different story. We’re reluctant to embrace a radically new way of doing life, because we’re worried it might ruin what’s already working for us. We generally have what we need and lots of what we want. Life has its challenges, but we’re reasonably comfortable. We know how the system works and how to work it—so as long as things go reasonably according to plan, we’re hard-pressed to embrace the Jesus way. That’s the dark side of the good life. So, should you throw it all away—abandon everything and live out of your car? Maybe. But probably not. More likely, we need to simply begin by saying, ‘God, I’m crazy-addicted to my good life. But I want the better life. Can you walk me through that transition?’ Then start by taking that next step. Whatever it is. And yeah, you’ll know.
