And solemnly lifting up His eyes on His disciples, He said: Blessed (happy—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and to be envied) are you poor and lowly and afflicted (destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor), for the kingdom of God is yours! Luke 6:20[AMP]
When I read this verse that comes out of my passage today, I find myself wanting what they (the poor) have. And what is it that they have? Well, the amplified version tells us -> “Destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor“ Ok, none of us probably want that; but what does it mean that they have because they are in the situation that Jesus calls out here?
Quite simply, they don’t have earthly things, so they cling to spiritual things. I’m going to have to look up where, but there are other places in God’s word where it talks about the fact that when we seek to people please, the recognition that we get when we do (here on earth) is a receipt of the reward we are looking for (paid in full). So, like that reward, the security of money, influence, position, and honor fulfill a need that we… we are not looking for the spiritual comfort and peace that God can give us when we are destitute.
QUESTION: Am I living a life in my job security, worldly possessions, and comfort that have me leaning into the Lord like I need to? If I’m answering honestly, probably not. Do I need to lose all of these things in order to attain a closeness with the Lord that he desires for me? I don’t think so, but it means that I have to be prepared to lose everything, to give everything away if I don’t feel like I am getting as close to the Lord as I should, while having all of these things. This has kind of rocked me today… and I’m still processing.