God has been doing a work in me over the past few days as I was preparing my message for the high school students at Delta/Engage last night. We are currently in a series called "Upside Down" and we are talking about how living the life Jesus calls us to, invites us to, is foreign or upside down to the way the world around us lives.
Last week we began our discussion by identifying the fact that we actually live in two kingdoms. First there is the Kingdom of Me, the one we live in most of the time. Then there is the Kingdom of God, the one we strive to achieve someday but don't always believe we can or desire to do so. But Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of God is here with us NOW. It is not a 'something' to be aspiring to reach 'someday.' And before we can even recognize that and be willing to live in the Kingdom of God, we have to admit that there is a Kingdom of Me, a place where we rule and make all the choices. And, we have to be willing to surrender our kingdom to God before we can fully live in His.
When we left our discussion last week everyone was feeling a little disoriented and troubled. And guess what, that was exactly what God was hoping for. It is in those moments of doubt and transparency that God can help us see what is truly in our hearts and He can help ease our pain and suffering, if only we let Him. When we picked up our message again this week we began to look at what the Kingdom of God is really like and what Jesus is inviting us to join him in.
We looked at some of my favorite verses last night. They can be found in Matthew, chapter 5. They are The Beatitudes. Now for those of you that don't know me as well as others, I love to read different translations of the Bible whenever I am digging into a text. I love to see how different words help my understanding grow and develop, and once again I was richly rewarded.
I first began in the NIV:
Matthew 5:1-10 (New International Version)
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is the text that I am most familiar with. It is the one that I grew up with. After reading it I felt the urge to pull out my Parallel Bible, which has four translations side-by-side on each page, and see what words the other versions used.
What I found in the NLT brought a few things into focus:
Matthew 5:1-10 (New Living Translation)
The Sermon on the Mount
1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them.The Beatitudes
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,a]">[a]for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,b]">[b]
for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
9 God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Pretty similar, right? But did you catch the differences in verses 3, 5, 6, 9, and 10. Not huge, message altering changes, but rather simply different words that help our understanding grow and develop as we strive to discover the meaning of what Jesus is trying to teach us. I, for one, can understand that I "have a need for Him" maybe a little easier than I know what "poor in spirit" means.
Humble is a word I am more familiar with than meek. Justice is something I can grasp maybe more fully than righteousness. I know what a peacemaker is but I love the mental imagery of "those who work for peace." And again in verse 10, righteousness is one of those "big words" that can sometimes take me out of the flow when I am reading because I have to stop and think about what it really means. For some reason my brain can process "those who are persecuted for doing right" a little easier.
Whichever version speaks to you, you have to admit that what Jesus is calling us to is "Upside Down" to the way the world around us works. The world values our personal strength, power, and independence. But Jesus is inviting to share a life with Him that turns all those things on their heads and shows us that by living a life that is weak, and meek, and humble, and peaceful, one that allows us to mourn and show mercy, is actually the way to need to live in order to be living in the Kingdom, the Will of God.
Now, I can already hear that voice in your head saying "well sure Drea that is good and all but I don't know if I can do that." And let me say back to you, "Yes you can, all you have to do is try." Slowly, day by day, lay down the things you feel the need to control and surrender them to Jesus. When you pick them back up again, and you will, stop, remember the peace that Jesus offers, and lay them down again. Eventually you will be free of your burdens, one at a time.
So..... What are the things that you are trying to keep control of? What does the Kingdom of You look like? What would you love to lay down at the feet of Jesus and not have to carry any further? How can you begin to slowly unload the life you have created for yourself and walk towards the life Jesus is inviting you to? Are you ready to be humble, merciful, hungry for justice, to be comforted, pure of heart, work for peace, and persecuted for doing what is right? Maybe not ALL-at-Once, but are you willing to see where you are walking in the opposite direction, stop and turn toward these ideas and actions?
My prayer for today is that we are all able to recognize where the Kingdom of Me and the Kingdom of God are in conflict. I pray that we are brave enough to lay down the things that we are holding tight and begin to surrender our control over to The One that can rescue us. I pray that we begin to hunger for justice, work for peace, and realize our need for God. I pray that our lives are radically transformed, from the inside out, as we work to turn ourselves upside down and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Until We Meet Again,
Drea
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