Blessed

Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 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. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” (Luke 6:20-26 NIV)

“How are you doing?” That’s probably the most commonly asked question: “How are you doing?” It’s also probably one of the hardest questions to answer. Do you ever tell the truth? “How are you doing?” What do we say? “Good. Pretty good. Okay.” That’s what we always say, right? Because you know that other person doesn’t really want you to bare your soul to them. What else could you say? How about this: “Blessed.” Whenever I hear someone say that—“I’m blessed”—I think to myself, “I should say that. ‘I’m blessed!’” But I usually don’t. Do you tell everyone that you’re “blessed”? For some reason, it can be hard to make those words come out.

Maybe because we often don’t feel blessed. We feel poor. Maybe poor financially. This inflation stuff is a real thing. Money’s on your mind. Will you have enough? Those worries bring real stress and anxiety. Maybe you feel poor in spirit. Like a nobody. Like nobody cares. Blessed? How can you be blessed when you’re poor? We can say the words, but they don’t sound true.

Maybe because we hunger for something more than what we have. By nature, every one of us is looking for something. To be filled by something. Have you found it? Hunger for a child. Or for a spouse. Or for good health. “When am I going to feel better?” Or for a healthy relationship. Just one. “Who will be my friend? My real friend?” Or for a car that won’t break down. What are you searching for? What do you need? Blessed? When you hunger for something more? No way.

Maybe because you’re sad. Tears for lost loved ones keep coming to your eyes. It doesn’t get any easier, does it? It sure seems like lots of people are dying for all sorts of different reasons. Maybe you’re at the stage of life when you’re constantly going to funerals. Or maybe you’re sad for your own death. It’s coming. You know it. There are so many tears. So much change. So much loss. So much heartache. So much death. Blessed? How so? We don’t feel that way.

Maybe because people are mean. At least sometimes. I don’t like it when people are mean. I was looking up something from the Bible on Google the other day, and somehow I ended up on a site mocking Christianity. People are cruel! There were so many comments: “Christians are a special brand of crazy!” “How could anybody believe this garbage in the 21^st century?” Isn’t it amazing how mean the tolerant people of today can be? Isn’t it amazing how judgmental non-judgmental people can be? Blessed? When people are so mean? That’s not how we feel. Is that really true?

Yes. You are blessed. At least, according to Jesus. He has an upside-down way of looking at the world. To us, when we hear the word “blessed,” we immediately think of what’s going on in our lives. Money. Health. Job. Family. We think we’re blessed when the outward circumstances of our lives are going well. That’s not what Jesus means when he calls us blessed. A blessed person is a recipient of God’s grace. A blessed person is someone whom God loves dearly. Who’s that? That’s you! Blessed is not, “Everything’s going great!” Blessed is “Jesus loves me, this I know.”

Can you see the difference? This was the lesson that Asaph had to learn. We heard his struggle in Psalm 73. When he looked around, wicked people seemed so blessed. At least, the outward circumstances of their lives seemed to go so well. It didn’t make sense! Until Asaph understood their final destiny: Hell! Then it hit home. He had been stuck in the now. That happens to us too. We get stuck in the now. We forget what Jesus has done for us in the past. We forget what Jesus has promised to us in the future. Asaph learned: You’ve got to see the big picture. Heaven and hell. Faith and unbelief. Grace and judgment. Don’t get stuck in the now. You’re really blessed!

I’m afraid we Christians often just believe half the Bible’s message. Do you know which half? The good stuff. “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). We get that. Good things come from God. But what about the bad things? The hard things. There must be some mistake, right? God must not get it right all the time. No! That’s the other half of the Bible’s message. Do you know whom even the bad things in life come from? God. Both the good and the bad are gifts from God. To show us his grace in Jesus and focus us on his promise of heaven.

Do you feel poor? Listen! “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” I read a great description of “poor” this week. Being poor means to be thrown on God’s grace. If you’re poor financially, what do you have to trust in? The grace of God. If you’re poor spiritually, if you recognize your sins, what do you have to trust in? The grace of God. Being poor means to be thrown on God’s grace. What a blessing! Why? God gives his kingdom to those who trust in him. If the circumstances of your life force you to fall on God’s grace, you’re blessed! Because “blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Do you see how this works? Jesus’ perspective is upside-down. Don’t get stuck in the now. You are blessed!

Do you hunger for something more? Listen! “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.” We all long for something. To be filled by something. That’s why we run after all sorts of things in life: Food, sex, money, success, popularity—to be filled up. But do those things fill us up? No. So, ironically, if you haven’t found anything on earth that fills you, do you know what you are? Blessed. Because you have room for God to fill you. To satisfy you with his love. At the end of his struggles, Asaph could say, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). Don’t get stuck in the now. You are blessed!

Are there tears in your eyes? Listen! “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” Could that really be true? Could weeping really turn to joy? Could all the heartache and tears and death ever be taken away? Yes! Because of Jesus. He promised: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). Did you hear the Bible’s description of heaven? “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). Every tear for a loved one means another person is in heaven. Don’t get stuck in the now. There is so much more than this life. You are blessed!

Are people mean to you? Listen! “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. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” If the unbelieving world mocks your faith in Jesus, rejoice and leap for joy! Why? Because that means you have faith in Jesus. And if you have faith in Jesus, what is yours? Eternal life in heaven. People’s mocking doesn’t isolate you. Actually, it connects you to all of God’s people of the past, including Jesus himself. Don’t get stuck in the now. You are blessed!

Do you believe that? Jesus really, really wants you to. That’s why he gives us some warnings. If you’re not convinced, if you’re stuck in the “now,” listen up. Jesus adds some very strong words. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” If your comfort is stuff, then you better try to enjoy it now. Because there won’t be any comfort when you die. Riches won’t help you in hell. “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.” If your life is full right now, so full that there isn’t room for Jesus, watch out! One day, all that will be stripped away, and you will feel completely empty. Strong words! This is Jesus talking!

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.” If your life is all about pleasure now, about doing what feels good now… If you’ve bought into the lie of YOLO—“you only life once”—then you better laugh now, because you won’t be laughing in hell. If you’re stuck in the now, you’ll miss out on the future God has prepared for believers in Jesus. “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” If you’re more concerned about people’s approval than God’s approval, soak it all up now, because when Jesus comes back, he will say, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers” (Matthew 7:23).

Ouch. Those are strong words! Woe. Woe. Woe. Woe! What do those warnings make us do? Repent and fall on God’s grace. Depend completely on Jesus. Your life doesn’t depend on what is happening right now. It depends on what Jesus did for you 2000 years ago. Jesus died to forgive your sins, and he rose to give you eternal life. That means your hope doesn’t depend on how today goes. Your hope is forever with Jesus in heaven. Don’t get stuck in the now. Trust in what Jesus has done in the past. Hope for Jesus’ promises in the future. What do you call someone who’s received God’s grace? Whom Jesus loves dearly? Blessed. You’re blessed!

I hope you realize how this impacts this Tuesday. Election Day. Christians seem to be in a tizzy. “What if the wrong people win?” Hold on. Do you know whose will is going to be done on Tuesday? God’s. God’s will will be done. Because do you know who controls elections? God does. So you don’t need to worry. “But what if he gets it wrong? I mean God seems to be getting lots of elections wrong lately!” Do you hear how we Christians talk? Like it all depends on now. On us. It doesn’t! Being blessed has nothing to do with which political party is in control. God’s grace is new every morning. When you wake up on Wednesday morning, you’ll be blessed!

But what if inflation continues, and we’re still poor? Know what Jesus says? “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy.” Why? Because “blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” As a child of God, the kingdom of God is yours. No one can ever take that away from you. But what if this country gets more hostile to Christianity and the people in power begin to hate and exclude and insult Christians? Know what Jesus says? “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy.” Why? Because that’s how they treated Jesus. It’s an honor to be connected to Jesus. But what if you don’t get better, or he doesn’t get better, or she dies unexpectedly? Know what Jesus says? “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy.” Why? Because “blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” Every tear in life is a reminder of how perfect and wonderful heaven will be.

So how are you doing? Can we practice this? “I’m blessed.” Can you say that with me? “I’m blessed.” That doesn’t mean everything’s going great. It means you know what Jesus has done for you at the cross. It means you know Jesus’ promise of heaven. So you don’t have to get stuck in the now. The outward circumstances of life don’t define us. God’s grace does. We’re blessed!