By Jamin Roller
Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:3, Psalm 142:1-5, 1 Samuel 1:1-18, Isaiah 57:15-19, Revelation 21:3-7
My father-in-law gives me $200 for Christmas every year. It is a bit of a family joke because each year he tries to find new ways to give the same gift. Sometimes it’s in a new pair of socks. Other times it’s hiding in the tree. Every year it is a fun, much appreciated gift. Two hundred dollars doesn’t change our world, but it is nice to have.
It goes back to when I was eighteen—when my wife and I started dating. One weekend I met her at her parents’ house to spend a few days together, and I had no money.
I was a broke college kid who had just spent my last penny on gas to get to her house. I had overdrawn my bank account and had no plan on how I was going to get back to campus when the weekend was over. We said our goodbyes on Sunday afternoon, and then I got in my car praying that the half tank of gas would get me back to my dorm. Sitting in the passenger seat was two hundred dollars from my future father-in-law.
It felt like a bag of gold in that moment. Not only could I get home, but I could get dinner and some groceries for the week. It wasn’t life changing money, but it sure felt like it.
In this first beatitude, Jesus compared our spiritual need to financial poverty. Throughout His ministry, there were varied reactions to His announcement of the kingdom and the offer of forgiveness. Some followed Him. Others listened but kept their distance. Others responded with hostility.
Jesus helps us understand that those who consider themselves spiritually rich will miss their need for Him and His kingdom. In contrast, the spiritually poor are called “blessed” because their need is the very precondition of the kingdom. Eugene Peterson put this verse in his own words this way: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule (Matthew 5:3, The Message).”
Even as Christians we can believe the lie that we somehow are less needy than when we first came to Christ. Like my relationship to the two hundred dollars, what once felt like a life changing gift, now feels like a nice addition to a not-as-needy life. We would do well to hear that Jesus was not just describing the heart of conversion but the way of the kingdom. We are moment by moment in need of grace. Of all the blessings we have been given, we only have them because of the unmerited mercy and compassion of our savior and king. Those who don’t think they need it will miss it. Those who know it is all we have are blessed.
Written by Jamin Roller
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