Blessed are...

I sat down with her on one of our benches outside on a Saturday morning. She was waiting in line. I was waiting on God to show me what He wanted me to do on this particular morning. We made small talk for a minute and then she started to open up a little. I wasn’t ready for what all she had to say...in just a couple of short sentences. Two profound things. “You know I love to come up here,” she started. “Is that right? Tell me why,” I reply.

She says, “Everyone is so nice. I think it’s the only place where I see someone smile at me. And people hug me. Coming up here just makes me feel like somebody.” That was really shocking to me. It was a proud moment to some degree. We had really set the tone and the culture, but my heart was also broken for her. How many other people standing around felt that way? That was a moment I likely won’t ever forget. 

Now, everywhere I go, I am mindful of the ones that feel that way. Life has pushed them aside. Their communities have turned their noses up, their eyes away, and their hearts off. We are surrounded by them every day. We contribute to their loneliness, sorrow, and depression. We compound an already insurmountable problem without even being aware...just going on with our lives around them. 

Isn’t it interesting that the first thing Jesus had to say in His first public speaking appearance wasn’t anything about creating the world, or ruling the world, or how He had come to destroy the enemy? Isn’t it interesting that He didn’t come out and say, “Here I am. The Son of God. The long awaited Messiah. I will win. Who is coming with Me?” 

Rather, in His first public opportunity to speak to a crowd, He begins, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Blessed are the people that are looked down on. The ones that are viewed as unworthy. Blessed are the vulnerable. The ones that carry no power, no status, no honor in the community. The weak. The broken. The ones society turns its back on. The King of the World, in all His glory, stands to speak and says...I’m here for you...the least of you.  

I really think that statement, at that time, should make a massive impact on the way I live my life. If that was the first thing out of the mouth of Jesus, at such a critical time and opportunity...shouldn’t we adopt that as a principle to live by? Blessed are the poor in spirit. The vulnerable. As a follower of Jesus, I have a responsibility toward the vulnerable. The weak. The outcast. The underdog. 

And I don’t mean to give them a handout that really costs me nothing in the grand scheme of things. I mean to treat them like a person...with dignity and respect. To love them as I would love anyone else. More than I would anyone else...because they need it more. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.