20Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (I always thought this was for poor people, not for me, so they could feel better about their circumstances, very embarrassing admission.) 21Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. (I hate being hungry and find it very annoying and painful) Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. (I much prefer laughter to weeping) 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 thought we were supposed to live in such a way that no one can find any fault with us, let alone call us evil! ) 23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, (I more picture myself bawling on the floor under these circumstances) 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. (This is more how I see American Christian, myself included, living our "lives of faith")
It seems to me that we pray for the direct opposite of what Jesus was saying here. And I don't think we need to whip ourselves and start wearing hair shirts, life has many opportunities for suffering. I just realized how much of my time and energy and focus is on having all these things that Jesus tells us we should do without. Whoa. Scary moment!
2 comments:
I know it would seem masochistic to desire or seek poverty, hunger, and rejection, but, as you said, what's more important is how we respond when they find us.
Another thought tho' is not avoiding them when they accompany involvement for the sake of meeting others' needs. For example, denying ourselves material wealth (say, as a doctor) to serve the poor on the mission field, or skipping a meal (or more) to pray for or help someone in need, or risking rejection to come alongside 'outcasts' or people who have needs that they'll 'fight' you for exposing.
So, there definitely IS ample opportunity to experience these things every day without having to 'seek' them out (but we do choose to be willing to 'lay down our lives' for others in the process)!
Thanks for stirring up those thoughts with your honest responses,
Dana
Thank you for your comment Dana, I tried to write you back yesterday, but my internet kept going down.
I loved your comment and totally agree with you. I think there are MANY ways we can live this out. Even in our families, choosing to be vunerable and admit how we are feeling instead of protecting ourselves, or taking a risk and telling someone we love them when we think they may reject us. Loving our kids for their sake, instead of our own. I am learning more and more that love is all about dying to ourselves. I think that is why americans are so bad at it. As in, our high divorce rate and trainwrecks of relationships. I am just learning these things though and there is still a very good chance my kids will need therapy as adults. :)
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