Closeness With God预览

> Give to The Poor

By now you can see that clinging to Jesus (Devekut) is more than just holding onto Him for dear life. It’s about abiding in His Nature, restraining from the selfishness of evil, and progressing to become more like Him in every way. As we become more like Jesus we become more aware of what matters most to Him and we become advocates of what He was always about when He walked the Earth. We become close to God.

The first of Jesus’ Beatitudes is, "Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the Earth" (Matthew 5:3). Most translations add the words “in spirit” so that it reads, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." I’m fine with thinking that the rich person who is poor in spirit (doesn’t have Jesus) and realizes their need of Him is blessed.

But Jesus is talking to a first-century, second-temple Jewish audience who already believe they are “saved” because God already is their Savior. They worship the One True God. Could it be that when Jesus said these words He was talking to the impoverished Jewish people and trying to include them in His Kingdom? It really would be Good News to someone who is poor and excluded if you told them they were in and accepted, just because of who they are, without having to change their social status or financial situation.

First-century Israel was so religiously polluted that the poor were kept out of fellowship (Galatians 4:4, CJB). They were outcasts and marginalized and also part of a hideous Roman caste system. Jesus came proclaiming a new rule with a new Command, to "Love one another." This included the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable.

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, 'Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you'" (Proverbs‬ ‭3:27-28‬, ‭NLT).‬‬

Remember, your neighbor isn’t just the person who lives next door. It could be the person who despises you and belittles you.

People who don’t attend church ask really good questions like, “If God is so Good and Loving, why are there so many people starving in the world?”

Jesus answers this with a story about a man who went away and divided his money amongst his servants. On his return, he wanted to know what each had done with what had been given them. The climax of the story is when we learn that doing nothing with what you have been given in this life is met with the strongest of disappointment from God. The moral of the story is to make the world a better place for all, especially the least of these (poor and vulnerable).‭‭

We are responsible for what we have been given. What are you doing with what God has given you? Are you using your wealth and influence to extend God’s Kingdom or have you buried it in a hole?

Stats from a Forbes magazine in 2014 (a summary):

• The richest 40 people in the world have 1.4 trillion dollars between them.
• The richest 85 have the same amount of money as the bottom 3.5 billion people on Earth.
• The top 1% of the richest people have 110 trillion dollars.
• And the GDP of the entire world is only 85 trillion dollars.

Most of the world’s problems can be solved by the people who live in this world. Seems like a bunch of wealthy people have taken what God gave them and buried it in a hole. And then I think about how rich I am compared to the world’s population. What am I doing with what God has given me? Am I aware of anyone around me who might be poor, marginalized, or vulnerable? Do I feel the ache of Heaven for the imbalance of Humanity? Do I think about issues of inequality? How am I using my time, talent, and treasure to see God’s Kingdom restore dignity to all those living less than what Heaven desires?

We can’t help but think about these things when we are close to God - because God thinks about these things!

Prayer:

Jesus, You made all of us in Your Image to experience Freedom and Joy. Open my eyes to see what You are doing and help ease the suffering of those in my world. Help me interact with everyone in a way that makes Your News really, Good News! Let it be so, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Thanks for joining us on this journey to get closer to God. Make sure to follow Joel and Julia’s Page to see more plans and videos. Grace & Peace.