In Progress...

I've been thinking about this concept a lot lately. Preparing for the Sr High Winter Retreat theme (Biggest Loser) and getting our current midweek series together (Pity the Fool) have only gone to make me think deeper about acceptance in this world, and acceptance by God. How twisted have our value systems become? The stuff of life that truly matters are those things that we give so little time, attention, money, and energy to, and conversely those things that matter so little in light of eternity are what we give our all to.

Matthew 19:30 "This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."

Those in the world who don't ever get what truly matters in life (which is that stuff that matters to God), they will have wasted their lives pursuing what will drop them in last place. But for those who see Christ as the highest prize, seeing through the distractions of the world, they are the ones who will really win. They are the ones who will end up at the front of the line.

Do you remember when you were young, and someone would say, “It’s opposite day!” Everything now becomes the opposite of what it should be. That's almost what this begins to feel like as I come to understand God’s original design for us. See, the world and everything in it is telling us to live for self, and stuff. But Jesus in his Word says that up is not really up, its down. And left and right are different too. In fact, nothing in this world is how it seems. All that we’ve been told is a lie! We’ve been playing some twisted version of spiritual opposite day and it’s gotten us all mixed up.

I love how The Message words this perspective on life in that verse in Matthew. The Great Reversal. It's opposite of everything the world says, does, and pursues. And why are we so surprised? The Bible tells us that God’s ways are not our ways. So what if we buy into this Great Reversal? The world might call us losers and fools. That's okay, let's be the biggest losers, let's be the fool, let's lose the world if it mean we get Jesus.

Let's aim to lose in the Great Reversal.