You can’t read the Beatitudes without seeing this irony - here are a few excerpts from Luke chapter 6:
"Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake."
“But to you who are listening I say:
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and it will be given to you.
Is everything backwards? Maybe so! Or perhaps the problem is our definition of ‘normal’ – I don’t think there is any such thing. Anyone that's read Genesis knows that this world is screwed up. We were given a beautiful world, and we broke it like a spoiled brat's Christmas present.
God tells us clearly that our penchant for sin is to blame for this brokenness, and that it isn't just us, but everything that is broken. Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Tsunamis, even Meteors - every "natural disaster" is ultimately man-made. To put a down-home flavor on it, "Adam done broke the WHOLE THING!" And by the way, these disasters are not 'natural', they are unnatural - Nature itself is broken!
And this catch-phrase that is often used, about something being “the new normal”? I don’t think there is any such thing as normal on this earth! I tell my kids that nobody is ‘normal’ – the only humans that could qualify as normal in my opinion are Adam and Eve before the Fall, and Jesus of Nazareth. He is the ultimate example of what a normal life could look like.
But what Adam 1.0 has broken, Adam 2.0 will fix. Adam 1.0 was natural, and he broke all things 'natural'. But thank God that He sent us the ultimate upgrade, Jesus the God-Man!
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. (1 Corinthians 15:44 - 46)
Thank you Lord, for being our perfect and life-bringing upgrade!