Poverty

Shootings, senseless deaths, cancer in my peers, miscarriages, pervasive idolatry in our society, broken relationships and scandals. These and other symbols of brokenness have been a recurring theme in my life lately. I've been feeling this heaviness as I'm trying to bring before God my struggles, many that became more evident to me after my move here.

In Matthew 5:3, Jesus said,"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Several years ago, it was revealed to me what being poor in spirit really meant. It's not the poverty I grew up with in my family, nor is it the socio-economic poverty many Westerners would immediately think about in our own well-to-do societies. It's not even the tragic and heart wrenching crimes committed by humans to one another. Those horrible acts and the resulting consequences are merely symptoms of our deep-seeded brokenness, of our desperate need for a Savior. We're all innately depraved in our spirits - we need something much more than what this world has to offer; so muc more than any happiness we can muster up by working/playing hard enough. I'd like to refer to a brother in the Lord with some great insight on our depraved state, lest any of us be quick to judge. - I am...we all are - rotten to the core.

May we come to realize this, seek redemption in Christ and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to show other poor people the way to Life.