July 26 - Gift of Unhappiness

Read Luke 6:12-23

Context: In the first part of this chapter, Jesus has done things considered 'work' on the Sabbath and he's had run-ins with the Pharisees. Our text today is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.

Text:
12One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Blessings and Woes
17He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil[a] spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

When you are at work of with a group of friends, do you ever feel like you really don't belong there? Do the things they are concerned with seem meaningless so you just can't relate to their desires and concerns?

God actually desires us to be dissatisfied with the status quo of this world. He wants us to seek for something more...for Him. Several times in the Bible we are told that we are not of this world, that we are aliens. He has given us a longing for Heaven, so we will seek him and think of eternal things, not the temporary things of this world.

Sure, we'll always have worldly desires (nice home, better car, more stuff), but if we remember that this is a temporary home it is easier to focus on the eternal riches we'll receive. Then we will laugh at what we thought were troubles and shake our heads at the things we though were so important. Wouldn't it be easier if we could start doing that now?