23/02/2018
In one of the many commemorative posts on the passing of Billy Graham was a short compilation of quotes on evangelism. This particular one caught my attention:
“When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.”
Why did it captivate me so? Because it immediately reminded me of a rather confronting sermon preached on a hillside in Galilee. It begins, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3, NIV). This opening segment to what is the first detailed record of Jesus teaching on the kingdom of heaven provides a rather telling description of what counts as being BLESSED. In our world, saturated with materialistic notions and prosperity-driven sensibilities, “blessed” is hardly ever equated to being “poor in spirit”, “meek”, or even experiences of mourning or persecution.
No doubt the original audience found Jesus’ words equally challenging. There is no hint of the political and material “blessings” the nation of Israel expected with the awaited Messiah’s reign. There is no echo of the promises of the Mosaic covenant (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Being blessed is not connected to every aspect of their lives being prospered. What Jesus sets forth is a new paradigm that turns our often trumped up human ideas about happiness and success upside side.
Billy Graham’s words are in my opinion an echo of this opening line from the Sermon on the Mount. In fact his words have a striking similarity to the Message translation, “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule." He recognised the true value - the spiritual blessing - that comes from realising the limitations of self-reliance. It is then, and only then, that we enter into encountering God. The moment we recognise we possess no spiritual assets, that we have nothing in and of ourselves to recommend us to God, this is the point where we become partakers (inheritors) of the kingdom of heaven. This is what makes us blessed! Not because we posses great wealth, fame or success, but rather because we find ourselves rich owners of what cannot be bought.
The blessings of the new covenant speak of an inner revolution in attitude and outlook, that is, a mindset not fixed on earthly things but on things above. I invite you to meditate further on what Jesus sets forth as the model of true happiness and to change the way you think about earthly success, wealth and fame as definitive of a blessed life.
