In this episode of the Weekday Podcast, Pastor Chuck reflects on the meaning of being "well-off" and how it differs in God's kingdom. Drawing from Luke 6:20, he explains that blessedness is not about financial wealth or possessions but about the provision of God's reign, accessible to both the rich and the poor. The Beatitudes challenge human value systems, redefining who is truly blessed by highlighting spiritual favor over material circumstances. Pastor Chuck then encourages listeners to seek to be "bless-able" rather than merely desiring blessings, trusting in God's desire to bless their lives.
Hi everybody, and thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast.
You know what, my parents would talk of people sometimes, and they would refer to them as they are well-off. Now, you know, I learned because of their conversations, like sitting in the backseat of a car, what well-off meant. Well-off meant, well, they had done really well financially. They're probably living in a nice home, they might have a pool, they probably drive nice cars, their kids go to good schools, I mean, you know, the things.
Well, listen to what Jesus says in Luke chapter 6:20. He says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Now, the financially poor addressed in the Beatitudes have available to them now and forever all the resources of God's reign. Now, this is a big deal. Of course, the rich can be blessed as well, but if they are, their blessedness will not consist in their possessions any more than that of the poor consists in their lack of possessions. Blessedness is in either case entirely a matter of provision enjoyed at the ever-present hand of God.
Have you ever heard something that sounds a little bit like this, which is, you know, the value of something is what I place on it or what somebody is willing to pay for it or what somebody thinks it's worth. Like, I know people who spend a hundred plus thousand dollars on a vehicle, which, you know, I suppose if I had that money, I'd do that because I love cars. Because I can't, my value for vehicle feels like, wow, if that's a $40,000 car, that's a really nice car.
Well, this ever-present hand of God seems to come easier when I place my heart's affection and my desired values in Him, not in the things of the world, which are going to, well, fall away. The Beatitudes are not a list that somebody has to be or like live like in order to be blessed. It's not a blessing they announce caused by the condition of those said to be blessed.
Poverty, for example, is not the cause or reason for blessedness. I mean, having less is not the reason. Only entry into the kingdom of God provides such blessing. Instead, in the Beatitudes, we have a list of those commonly regarded among humanity as being "unblessable." And in these teachings, Jesus lays his ax to the root of a merely human value system and proclaims irrelevant those factors that humanity invokes in deciding who is and who is not well off.
Here's a question for you. How do the Beatitudes redefine the blessed, especially from your seat today? Who have you freshly realized is truly drenched with God's favor and as a result, blessed?
My prayer today for you and for me is, Jesus, would you teach us what it means to be blessed in your kingdom so that we might find your way, your will, your desire for our life, and that maybe we pray that we're not so much blessed today, but that we're bless-able today. My friend, it's a joy to know that the Lord desires to bless you. It's quite another to be bless-able. Live today with the desire to be bless-able and watch what the Lord will do in your life.
God bless you, friend, and thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast.
Message from Bobby McGraw on December 28, 2023
This episode of the Weekday Podcast focuses on the transformative power of grace and the treasure we have in Jesus. Drawing from 2 Corinthians...
