By David ReayMonday 31 Aug 2015LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Luke 6:20
20 Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven (NIV)
Jesus seems to make a point of singling out the poor for favour. In this he is following the words of the Old Testament where the prophecy was that the Messiah was to bring good news to the poor. So are we to do cartwheels of delight when our money runs out? Are we to glorify poverty? If we have any sort of wealth are we out of favour with Jesus? No, no and no seem to be the answers.
The poor here are probably the poor in spirit as Jesus makes clear in Matthew’s gospel. Even so, Jesus elsewhere makes it clear that material wealth can be a barrier to receiving his message. Not because having money is wrong in itself but because it can breed a sort of self-sufficiency and can mask our need of the help of God. Being poor, in other words, can more readily bring about blessed desperation where we realise our one and only help comes from God and not our own resources.
Those who have plenty of wealth or resources can shield themselves from God’s grace. Whatever is bothering them they figure can be resolved with a new purchase, a holiday, a course of study. Those who have little or no access to these things are left with no other help but divine help. Again it has to be stressed that buying new things, or holidays, or more education are not wrong. Rather if used as a substitute for the meaning only God can give they are a diversion from his grace.
Blessed are those who have run out of their own resources and cannot help themselves, for they will get God’s own resources and God’s unique sort of help.
Blessings
David Reay