The Kingdom of Opposites

"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. 

"But I say to you who hear,  

Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.  

To one who strikes you on the cheek offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 

Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be give to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into you lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

Luke 6:20-38 

Where can I even start to talk about this passage?

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil.....

Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.....

Wow.

It's no secret that I want everyone to like me... I really want everyone to love me. I want all of my friends to think well of me. I would really love it if everyone thought I was the most wonderful person they've ever met.

I REALLY despise offending people.

Up until maybe last year, I was convinced that if people actually thought through the Gospel and Christianity, that they would logically come to the conclusion that it just makes sense, and they too would decide to worship and love God.

I mean I had read these verses, but I always just thought that perhaps society had gotten better and we could logically come to know God..... 

Even as I write that I know that is based on bad theology.

"44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. " John 6:44

"8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. " Ephesians 2:8,9

The truth is that no one can know God, unless God reveals Himself to them.

The other truth is that... the Gospel that I love. The Gospel that I live my entire life around. The Good News that Jesus came to earth, fully man yet fully God, lived a perfect life, and died because we were separated from Him... died to bring the dead to life. Died so that we could know Him and love Him. Even while we were sinners... even while we HATED Him. This Gospel is super offensive to people who don't love God.

Try telling someone who isn't a Christian that they are a sinner, that they are going to hell, that they need a saviour to rescue them from their sin so that they can be united with God, and have fellowship with God.

Yeah... it doesn't go over so well. 

And the truth is that we can't MAKE them understand. The Holy Spirit is the only one that can change a man's heart.

And so... I have had to come to the realization that what I believe will GREATLY offend a lot of people. 

It's right here in front of me in my grey Reformation Study Bible...

People will hate me for what I believe. People will think I am evil for believing the Bible. 

And I should be okay with this.

I should REJOICE when people think ill of me because I believe in Jesus Christ.

I'm going to be honest and let you know that... I can't rejoice about that... not on my own... not apart from Christ. And soooo... This is my prayer today. 

Father God,  

My GOOD and gracious God, 

God of mercy and abounding in love,

I see exactly where my pitfall lies today. I want the world to love me and think I'm wonderful... In short I want glory. 

But Father, only you deserve glory. And so I pray that I would be so consumed with love for you that I would only want YOU to be glorified. I pray that I would consider myself nothing, and a nobody, and I pray that I would consider YOU everything and all worthy of praise and honour.I pray that you would forgive me. I have been embarrassed of the gospel and the cross of Christ. I have claimed to be born of You in full health of spirit, when there is no health in me. 

Father, I pray that you would heal my mind and restore it. I pray that I would expect to be despised for my beliefs, and I pray that I can REJOICE when that happens. I pray that I would know that to live in your Kingdom, and for you to rule and reign in my life, that I will have to become nothing.I praise you because you are the God of opposites. 

You are the God who restores, heals, and makes whole.  

You see an evil sinner, and you reach down and pluck him out of the sin and give him a new heart. 

I praise you because you have made me a new creation. 

I thank you that You are light and in You there is no darkness at all. There is no evil in you.  

I pray that you would continue to reveal yourself to me. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would continue to change my heart, and continue making me into a new creation. 

I pray that you would use me to build your kingdom.I pray all of this in Jesus name. 

Amen.