Recently I began attending a large Bible Study at a church in my community. It was the usual format for a study these days; do a portion of the study written by the author at home, gather together to discuss ‘the homework’ and then watch a DVD of the author as she expands on the topic with teaching. I enjoyed the discussion and found that we were able to get beyond the surface a few times. The ladies at my table were fun and willing to dive deep.

As we settled in with our coffee and pastries for the DVD, pens and paper in hand, our well-known teacher began to tell us about the context of the passage that we were studying for that day. We were studying the Beatitudes and to set the scene she took us to Matthew 4 to the end of the chapter reminding us that right after choosing his twelve, Jesus had subjected these twelve men to scenes of great suffering and tremendous pain within humanity as He went throughout the region teaching, preaching, and healing. Our teacher, for the moment, had given us the ‘establishing shot’ for the scene we were getting ready to see. She had shown us what was happening at the time, what may have been going on in the hearts and minds of those surrounding Jesus as they came onto the mountainside to hear Him deliver the memorable words we were about to look at in length. She began to teach what I have often heard and most likely you have too – this life on earth is hard; harder on some than others. Those who are in extreme poverty and have a relationship with Jesus will not live eternally in poverty because as the Scripture says, “theirs is the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 5:3 NIV)

This teacher used an example of going into India and seeing the most beautiful women that she had ever seen but they were living in abject poverty. Her heart went out to them and she was moved to speak to them and tell them how beautiful they were to Jesus. These beautiful women pushed in around her to hear the message of how much Jesus loved them and to be touched by her and she says that some came to faith in Christ that day but . . . when she left them they were still in dire poverty with starving children and no food for themselves.

She went on to say that Jesus was teaching that this world is not fair and that we are to live as salt of the earth and then began to tell us what it meant to live as Christ on earth by expounding on Christ’s admonishment not to judge in verse 37 of Luke 6. It was a message well delivered and one worth hearing however, my heart was crying out to hear something different. In saying that, please know that I am not critiquing her teaching at all. My comments reveal my heart and nothing about her or my opinion of her. I hold this teacher in high regard.

As I was sitting there listening to her speak, I noticed that she went from the ‘establishing shot’ and setting the scene to what a cameraman might say was a medium shot or maybe even a close up. I wanted her to stay with the establishing shot. I noticed as she read the passages around the Beatitudes that the Holy Spirit was showing me something completely different than what was being spoken through her. The whole context of the message that Jesus delivered was summed up for me at the end of chapter six in Luke with the story of the wise and foolish builders. Jesus told them that the builder who hears His words and puts them into practice is the one whose house is standing at the end of the storm. In choosing His twelve and then teaching, preaching and healing along the way, Jesus had demonstrated to them what He wanted them (and us) to do. He wants us to reach out in a tangible way to the poor, the hungry, to those who weep and those who hate us because in this we are demonstrating His blessing to a world searching for a king. Offering them an introduction to the King is important but if we do not minister to their physical needs we have left them dry and parched and fertile soil for the enemy to snatch the word from the soil of their hearts.

Reality says to us that there are those in this life that are going to suffer, going to be poor, going to weep due to the cruelty of others. Sin is rampant on this earth. I accept that as a fact. I am unsettled with the suggestion that this passage would teach that we are to be content with that. Jesus was a revolutionary. He came to defeat death! He came to transfer me from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of light! I don’t see Him letting His disciples sit on their haunches while others are suffering and patting them on the heads saying “Blessed are you someday.” (I know that is an oversimplification.) The point is, if you read through that whole passage (Luke 6:12-49) you will see that Jesus is saying, “Don’t just sit there. Follow me. Do something about it. Do as you see me doing. Get involved.” Jesus was a man of action and He demonstrated through His life and death what He wants from us. He fed the hungry, he had compassion, He loved those who hated him, He didn’t judge, He loved the unlovely. Jesus told us that each tree is recognized by its own fruit. I am wanting my tree to have tangible fruit.