We don't get it...

As I read through the New Testament during Lent, I'm in the book of Matthew now.  It seems that everything Jesus says is contrary to normal thinking.

• People in bad shape are blessed. (5:3-10)
• Don't resist an evil person. (5:39)
• Love your enemies. (5:44)
• Don't worry about your needs. (6:25)
• Lepers are healed. (8:3)
• God's Son has no house to live in. (8:20)
• Jesus came not to bring peace, but a sword. (10:34)
• To find your life, you have to lose it. (10:39)

This life to which Jesus calls us is way different from normal life.  Its power comes from heaven, not earth.  Its perspective is God's not man's.  It makes no sense in the earthly scheme of things.

So Jesus tells us that we don't really get it, when it comes to this business of life.  We naturally seek the wrong things.  We naturally protect ourselves.  We naturally try to impress others.  We naturally accumulate stuff.

But real life comes through trusting God, not just for eternal salvation, but for the necessities of life, our safety, and our reputations.  We can trust God with it all, through Jesus.

Only through his power can we live this way.  And through his power, we can.