“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who
humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11
God is not opposed to the self-sufficient. He does not hate those who rely on their own
strength to make their lives what they are.
God has blessed them with a created world which he called “good” and set
them in it to make their way. They make
their lives, they create their comfort, they establish all they are on their
own and God blesses them.
But not all are able to establish themselves. Some work all their lives and never escape
suffering. Some have established
themselves, but through tragedy or disaster their well-made lives have
crumbled. Some are torn apart by others,
seeking to establish themselves on the backs of those vulnerable to their
power, leaving them nothing with which to establish themselves. There are some
who have no choice but to recognize that they are poor and helpless. They have done all they can, picked
themselves up, stepped forward, only to find themselves fallen again.
It is these whom God offers not just a casual blessing, but
overwhelming support and real help.
God is the judge who listens to the widow. God is the healer who heals the bleeding
woman whom the doctors cannot help. God
is the father who welcomes the starving prodigal home. God is the one who feeds the hungry in the
wilderness. God is the one who grants
the barren woman a child.
God is the power, the strength of the poor. The self-sufficient do not need help, they
are fine on their own. But the sick who
cannot be healed, the poor whose hunger left them weak, the sinner who can’t
escape their shame, the immigrant who does not see a friendly face, the outcast
who doesn't know why they can’t make it on their own, the mentally weak who
cannot make decisions on their own… God is there to be their strength because
they have no power.
What about those who do not do all they can to help
themselves? What if they are just
dependent on God because they decided that it is better to rely on Him than on
themselves? These lazy religious
fanatics, who think they can tempt God and get away without standing on their
own, what does God give them?
He gives them all they need.
There are those who sell all they have and give it to the
poor, at the command of God—God is there to provide for them. There are those who surrender their
well-paying jobs to help the weak for nothing—these fools are also supported by
God. The one who loves God’s ways,
despite their family’s hatred and become homeless because they have no support,
no help on earth—God is there for them.
Those who refuse judgment in God’s name and will not do violence even to
those who do violence to them—God is there to support them.
This does not mean that they do not suffer. They may hunger, they may be cold at times,
they may be occasionally friendless, they may even die at the hand of their
persecutors. Yet, somehow, they know
they can rely on God.
The persecuted David, who faced death, was confident of
God’s support. “The afflicted will eat
and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord… All the prosperous
of the earth will eat and worship, all those who go down to the dust will bow
before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive.” Even when faced with death, even when one
goes beyond death, God does not forget his promise of protection and life.
In this is the resurrection.
The resurrection is not for those who are religious enough to prove
their worth. Rather, it is for those who
suffered so much for good and for love that God determines that they must have
a second chance on life. Resurrection is
for the hopeless suffering who deserve a life of comfort. For those who have surrendered all comfort
for the sake of Love.
God never forgets his promise to be the power of life for
the poor.
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