A Few Thoughts From Mark

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:3). I once heard my brother Loren give a sermon on the meaning of the phrase, “poor in spirit.” He said it meant that there is nothing that we absolutely must have but Jesus. Not money, not reputation, not office, position or accomplishments. Only Jesus. The congregation probably responded to those words much like an audience responds to a movie about a hero who suffers through lean times for a noble cause with his serenity intact. From their cushy theater seats, they all congratulate themselves that they too would gladly suffer for the good. If “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,”* as Shakespeare once said, the present recession may place many of us in the movie itself, and test that glib assumption.

Is Jesus so important that no fear of lack can diminish our trust in Him? We have had to ask this question before. Elijah House’s earliest years were during the Carter Presidency, during a recession that in some ways was worse than the present one. At that time, EH was my Mom and Dad ministering out of their study in our house on Highland Drive. I was in college and John, Tim and Andrea were still at home. There were many times when Mom and Dad had no money for their mortgage payment or groceries. They would pray, and the day before the mortgage was due, a check would come in the mail. But there were also evenings when beans on the table had to suffice. I have ministered to many persons still scarred by times of childhood lack. But I have always found that their real lack had been parental love and simple faith. No such lack has scarred me. My parents’ trust in God made beans seem like just the latest culinary adventure. From their theater seats, if my parents had assumed that they would gladly suffer for the hero’s cause, their assumption would have proven true.

Our nation and the world are riding out another recession, but that is exactly the time when Jesus beckons us out of the boat. He does not ask us to walk on water on calm clear days. His miracles were planned for such a day as this. Do not look down at the waves; look straight at Him. Whether beans or filet mignon is served, He will not let you sink.




* As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7, Shakespear