Perspectives

Luke 6:20-23… 20) Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21) Blessed are you who hunger now for you will be satisfied Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22) Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23) Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” (NIV)

What is Jesus doing here? Well you might say that He is training and preparing His disciples for their future ministry. He reminds them that they will experience both joy and sorrow. They will be set apart for a very special ministry. There will be times when they will go hungry and still feel satisfied. There will be moments when they shall weep and laugh. They will feel the hatred of people who will snub, ignore and banish them, saying they are evil people, an anti Christian group. However, Jesus says, “Be glad. Leap for joy because great is your reward in heaven… that is how the prophets of old were treated.”

Imagine for a moment Jesus phoning, writing or e-mailing every reader of this column and then hand picking a bunch of us … whether female or male does not matter … to be His friends. How would we feel? What kind of thoughts would run through our mind? Why me? I cannot do the things important people do. But, you know what; all He wants from us is our friendship. It is an amazing thing that Jesus needs human friendship. He wants you and me to be His friends, if we refuse there is a blank in his heart until we come home to Him.

When we read these few verses we can see Jesus promising his disciples three things, that they would be fearless, very happy and in constant trouble. It is Jesus’ teaching that the joy of heaven will more than enough pay or compensate for the trouble of this world. We must always look at the challenge of the Bible and ask ourselves the question, where do I fit in? Considering Luke’s perspective, we should remember that probably many of the people who listened to Jesus were no different then you and me. Jesus wants to assure us that God sees our faith and we will not be forgotten. He after all was kind to all peoples – the ordinary – everyday folks.

So often I claim to be just as good as other folks, and maybe I am, because I will make sure to pick the worst of the bunch for the comparison. But the question Jesus is asking “Not if I think I am better than other people?” It is not other people with whom I must compare myself. It is God’s Word what I must compare myself with and in that comparison, I will inevitably fail. For us, the value system of the world has been such an influence, that Christ’s value sometimes seems unrealistic. I can remember when we condemned TV, but now we clamor for more, we now want 365 channels and we do not mind paying for it, after all, there are two Christian channels we say. But we need to realize that our attitude toward life is different with the attitude of those who have very little respect for Christian values. Our values should be different. Others may laugh at us, but the Bible teaches that we should love even those who do the laughing.

Perhaps the disciples had some thoughts running through their minds after Jesus’ conversation with them. Questions that lingered in their minds… How easy is it for us to apologize? How easy is it for us to take advice? Do we find it easy to profit from mistakes? Would it not be better if now and then we would shoulder a deserved blame? Would it not be better if we would admit, we were wrong or selfish? Yes, to think and then act is sometimes not that easy. It is much easier to say; “Well it all started back then.”How about the idea of controlling an unruly temper, is that easy?

I have heard it said, “Those are just crusty grumpy grouchy old men who have unruly tempers” What is that? Does it mean some men are dipped in a batter and then deep fried? Do those grumpy grouchy crusty old folks also need to forgive and forget? I know it is not always easy to be loving, kind, and charitable, and considerate and to make the best of every situation. But it always pays… To God Be the Glory.

Would you pray this prayer with me …”Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that Peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honor Your Name.” Amen.