Where To Start

Written by Sister2Sister contributor:  Marni Boland – Niagara Falls

Jesus sees a crowd gather and He does what comes naturally.  He teaches…on a mountain…to crowds of people, squeezing in to see this great Teacher, this son of a carpenter, the One John refers to as the “Lamb of God”. 

I, too, squeeze in with the rest of the crowd. 

Okay, Jesus, how do I really live for you?  How do I make these words that I read (hear) come off the page, be planted in my heart and grow into a life that looks exactly like you?  How do I make sure that I am not looking into the mirror and forgetting what I see? (James 1:22-25) 

I’m reading through Matthew 5 – 7, the Sermon on the Mount.  He speaks to a crowd of Jews who knew the law.  The do’s and don’ts. They were used to lists of ‘what to do’, but here Jesus talks to them about ‘how to be’ in this world.  He talks matters of the heart, not a checklist that can be added up at the end of the day.

He starts them off, not with a “Do this first” statement. No, He hits us where we need it. 

He starts off by teaching them,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. 

Right to the core

Straight to the heart of the matter

First of all, He tells me that when I realize how totally impoverished and destitute I am spiritually, that’s when the blessings come.

 Huh?

  So, hitting rock bottom spiritually, realizing how completely empty and poor I am is where he wants me to be?

 Yes.

 How does that make any sense?

Many of the Jews came to Jesus thinking they were pretty good…they were God’s chosen people after all, they had it in the bag.  The religious leaders were all about the letter of the law.  They thought they had it all together. Fasting? Check. Praying? Check. Giving to the poor? Check.

Jesus’ first order of business was to show his beloved that without HIM they were nothing.

Spiritually impoverished

 A hard pill to swallow for a people who were Abraham’s children

The heart of following Jesus isn’t about being busy with church stuff, religious acts or Christian missions.  First and foremost following Jesus is an act of desperation.

 I can’t live without you, Jesus

I can’t find my way without you, Jesus

 I can’t breathe without you, Jesus

 It’s realizing that I have nothing, and HE is everything.  I am poor, HE is rich.  I am dead spiritually, HE makes me alive.

Hmmm, well Marni, you’ve gotten way off track.  You started with the question, “How can I really live for you?” and now you are talking about realizing how spiritually impoverished you are….

The first step of really living for HIM is realizing that I can’t live without HIM (John 15:5). And if I can’t live without Him, I’m going to watch every step He takes, listen intently to every word he speaks, and allow HIM to take the lead in my life. I’m realizing that following HIM isn’t a want, as in, “Yes, I think being a Christian is a wonderful way to live, raise my family and develop a worldview”. 

We’ve got it all wrong!  Following Jesus doesn’t spring from a ‘want,’ it springs from a desperate NEED.

Jesus meets with a huge group of people, he sits them down and strikes a chord with every heart that may have been feeling it too.  There must have been those in the crowd that felt lost, desperate, unable to measure up to the Law…those who looked at the religious leaders who “had it all together” and thought “Have mercy on me, I am a sinner”.  (Luke 18:13)

Following Jesus isn’t for those who have it all together, it’s for those who are falling apart

Following Jesus isn’t for those who think they could squeeze Him into their already full lives, it’s for those who are empty and want Jesus to fill their lives

Following Jesus isn’t for those who have ‘so much to offer’ or who would be ‘so good in the kingdom’, it’s for those who realize that Jesus is the One making an offer we can’t refuse

The kingdom of God is made up of the poor in spirit, those who know what they are not and who they can never be ON THEIR OWN, and have surrendered themselves completely to the ONE who makes whole, the ONE who makes rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9 – For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich

God takes my spiritual bankruptcy and fills me to overflowing with the richness of the Savior.

 Blessed indeed!