Beautifully broken

“The funny thing about tears is that when they fill our eyes, that’s when we see most clearly.”- Kyle Idleman

In Chapter 1 of The End of Me, Kyle Idleman continues his discussion of “the poor in spirit” with a commentary on Luke’s account of Jesus eating dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50).  Although Simon knew the protocol for this kind of evening, he deliberately made no effort to follow it- and all his guests knew it.  Simon’s arrogance was blatant.

When the sinful woman crashed the party, Pastor Idleman emphasizes, all she sees is Jesus seeing her.  The woman is fully aware of her brokenness.  But Jesus sees something else- the woman is beautifully broken.  Jesus treats her as treasure, not trash.  The woman is undone- she has come to the end of herself.

Because the love of Jesus is real, the woman’s tears become the cleansing water Simon should have supplied- and her hair becomes the towel.  At the end of Luke’s account, Jesus has a rebuke for Simon and a word of blessing and redemption for the woman.  Kyle summarizes:

“With these words, Jesus has enacted the beatitude ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit.’  He has blessed the poorest spirit imaginable and rebuked the gaudiest, richest, most arrogant.”

Today’s question: How does it feel to know that Jesus sees you as beautifully broken?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “A trick question”

Beautifully broken

An inside job

In Chapter 1 of The End of Me, Kyle Idleman initiates his discussion of the Sermon on the Mount.  Pastor Idleman states Jesus begins to introduce us to the great paradox of God’s kingdom: “at the end of me, I find real life in him.”

The new kingdom, Kyle adds, has new rules.  Many of those new rules are a reversal of the old ways.  In fact, some New Testament scholars call the Sermon on the Mount the “Great Reversal.”  Pastor Idleman explains that Jesus is looking beyond superficial surface change:

“Jesus doesn’t want to talk about tangible rules or laws. . . . Nothing about the Romans here.  All that is on the surface of life, and Jesus wants to go a little deeper to what’s inside us- what make the surface the way it is.  The kingdom of God begins as an inside job.”

When Jesus says the poor in spirit are blessed (Matthew 3:5), the primary emphasis is not money- although the word Jesus uses for “poor” translates to “destitute” or “bankrupt.”  And it’s human nature to think a blessed life is defined by plenty of money, not poverty.

Jesus reverses such thinking here.  God’s kingdom begins in you when you come to the end of Me and you have nothing to offer.  Kyle concludes:

“Jesus says the kingdom begins with taking inventory and coming up with zero.  We have nothing to offer, and that means we’re making progress.”

Today’s question: What deeper, inside changes have occurred following your vocation loss?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Beautifully broken”

An inside job