Jesus, Einstein, and Paul

Luke 6.20-21 (ESV)
And he [Jesus] lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God
"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."

This is how Jesus began his first sermon recorded in Luke's Gospel. He says elsewhere that he has come to help the sick rather than those who are well, and that he will preach the gospel to the poor while the rich will find it almost impossible to enter Heaven.

He presents me, and all of us, with a challenge. Will I rely on my own abilities to provide material stability and meaning to my life? Or will I recognize that all my riches are utterly worthless? I had always been told as a child how humble and kind and good and smart I was. The trouble was, I bought it! Instead of helping, the thought that I was good all on my own kept me from putting my complete trust in Jesus' saving work for me until my Junior year of high school. I have come to see that most of what people saw as my goodness was only my own pride that sought their approval above the approval of God. God's blessing, as Jesus said in his sermon, comes to those who are poor and hungry and who weep over their own brokenness.

So I can identify with Albert Einstein who wrote in a newly publicized letter, "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses." He was half right! God helps and is real to those who are weak, not those who depend on their own abilities. What a barrier Einstein faced in his intelligence! His amazing abilities unfortunately gave him a grounds to dismiss his desperate need for reconciliation to God.

On the other hand, I love the example of the apostle Paul. He penned many of the letters that are now part of the New Testament of the Bible. He had been intelligent, ambitious, and well respected among those opposed to Jesus and his disciples. But Jesus grabbed him and turned him around (you can read the story, including his name change from Saul, of in Acts 9). In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul recounted all the things he had going for him, then made the most remarkable statement, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ." (Philippians 3.7)

I thank God that he has enabled me to follow Paul's example rather than Einstein's by capturing me with the grace earned for me by Jesus' death and resurrection. And I pray he will do the same for you.