February 19th Update
This past Sunday we kicked off the Me I Want To Be Series, and Mike Breaux taught through “The Beatitudes” in Matthew chapter 5, which begins the Sermon on the Mount. If you’re like me, it was challenging and thought provoking. Over the last couple days, I have been reading The Good and Beautiful Life by James Bryan Smith, which is an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount. The chapter I read yesterday covered the Beatitudes and hit me “like a Mac truck.” Read on if you want to be equally challenged.
Smith begins the chapter by laying out the 5 criteria that the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day believed were necessary to be included in the “Kingdom of God.” Among their beliefs was the idea that the Kingdom of God was only for the physically healthy and financially wealthy, and that everyone else had sinned too greatly, and were cursed by God.
Jesus however, states in the Beatitudes that this belief is completely untrue. Jesus goes on to say that Blessed (truly well off) are the poor, those who are meek, mourning, yearning for things to be made right, etc. And if you read Luke’s copy of the Beatitudes, you see that Jesus went on to directly challenge those who think the Kingdom of God is for the well off. Look at the warning of Christ:
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep." (Luke 6:24-25).
I think Smith’s observations on those powerful verses (quoted below) could not be more appropriate for me, and so many others like me who have grown up in “suburbia.” In my effort to provide a nice life for myself and my family and to be successful, I miss so much true satisfaction that God wants me to experience by really living in the Kingdom of God, here and now.
“Jesus warns them not because God does not accept rich, satisfied or happy people, but because rich, satisfied and happy people often think they have no need for God.
Wealth, power and possessions can easily numb us to our need for God and make us overlook the needs of others. The wealthy must be concerned for the poor. Eating gourmet meals when others have nothing to eat should cause us to reflect a bit. Pursuing pleasure in a world with so much pain creates uneasiness in those who follow Jesus. God is not against fine food or having fun, but we ought to think deeply about our decisions – what and how much we buy, what is truly important – because we live in a world of great disparity.
The solution is not to close out our bank account and hand it all to a charitable foundation or to stop eating. Jesus’ stern warning is born of love. He knows that we try to find solace in our wealth and fulfillment in our bellies. And we confuse fleeting pleasure with joy. When all is well in the kingdom of this world, we are tempted to think we have no need for the Kingdom of God. When the wealthy, full and happy share with those who have less, they find satisfaction in things that truly satisfy.”
It is my prayer for myself, my family, and for you - part of our young church - that we would find satisfaction in the things that truly satisfy, and in doing so come one step closer to the Me I Want To Be...the person God has had in mind all along.
Posted: February 18, 2010
Jon's Blog
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Lead Pastor
Heartland Sun Prairie
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