Blessed in a Backwards World

If we look at salvation history, it becomes clear that God does not think the way we think. He chose a nobody like Abram to be the father of His people. He chose the youngest son of an unimportant family to be king. He chose a lowly virgin to be the mother of His Son.

So when Jesus gives us the Beatitudes, it should not surprise us that, from a human perspective, many of them do not make sense. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who are persecuted. None of that sounds very blessed. It feels backwards. And it feels that way because we are not thinking about blessing in the right way.

We tend to think that being rich, famous, comfortable, or powerful are blessings. In a limited sense, they can be. But material blessings are lesser blessings. Everything material fades. It breaks. It rusts. It is lost. Spiritual blessings, however, endure. They can last forever.

We might not feel blessed when we mourn or when we are opposed for doing what is right. But Jesus is not praising suffering for its own sake. Rather, these experiences have a way of loosening our grip on the wrong loves. They expose the ways we seek happiness in comfort, approval, or control. And by doing so, they reorient our hearts toward God, who does not promise us temporary ease, but lasting joy. This is why Jesus tells us to rejoice and be glad. Our reward is not measured by present comfort, but by eternal life.

Very few of us are powerful or noble or wise by human standards. But God does not choose us for those reasons. He does not call us because of our accomplishments, as though our salvation were something we earned. He calls us because of His superabundant love. He makes us righteous. He makes us holy. He redeems us. We have no reason to boast in ourselves.

What we must do is remain faithful to that calling. This is true whether the Church appears strong and widespread, or whether it seems small and ignored, as it was in the time of Zephaniah. God does not promise success by worldly standards, nor does He promise that the world will agree with us.

In the time of the prophets, God often preserved His people not through numbers or influence, but through a faithful remnant. When Israel was unfaithful, God did not abandon His promises. He refined His people, keeping alive those who trusted Him. The same pattern appears throughout Church history.

In fact, the world often opposes Him. And so the lowly remnant, whether the remnant of Israel or a remnant of the Church, must remain faithful. We must speak the truth. We must love deeply. We must lead others to Christ.

The Lord keeps faith forever. Rejoice and be glad. Your reward will be great in heaven.