Jesus' Eyes for the Poor

I am glad to return to blogging from a few months off, during which, my writing efforts were entirely spent on a seminary course. Now that it is done I can deal with some of the things on my heart. Today, I couldn't help but address the subject of poverty. It would probably be a fair assumption that many of my readers will be like me in the sense that, we have always been rich, relative to most of the rest of the world. Many of us are blessed, even relative to the Canadian norm, coming from what is considered middle or upper middle income homes. Since moving to a declining industrial city, my wife and I have realized the dilemma that this can cause.

Of course I have always been aware that poor people existed, but because of various factors my life has been mostly insulated from that reality. Things have changed. The unemployment rate in our city has risen, and we moved here from a rural/suburban small town where poverty was less noticeable. So those two events have combined to plant us face to face with, at times, desperate levels of poverty. The other day we were at a plaza in the city running errands and I saw enough people in different sorts of circumstances to force my thinking further and raise questions, that are hard to answer. The primary question being, what does Jesus think about this?

Now, I know that I'm not in the place to judge, but it seems that thanks to my upbringing and my inherently human self righteousness. I find myself looking at the people who are publicly drunk, immodest and uninhibited, poorly dressed and generally looking rough and unkempt, thinking, these people are so much less than me. That may not be the words that immediately come to mind but that is the underlying meaning. The phrases that I actually think are more like, "...acting like that, and hanging around that guy, she shouldn't be surprised that this night is going to end badly for her" or "...she is incredibly young to have a baby" or "...maybe that guy should be going into the grocery store before going into the beer store". When I'm sitting at home reading my Bible it seems outrageous to think those thoughts but when facing the people on the street I find it so easy. When I started looking for what the Bible specifically said about poverty I realized that given the volume of instruction, I must not be the only one to think that way. Especially the wise sayings of Proverbs seem to deal with poverty in a very understanding manner. God is not surprised by what I see around my city and seems to understand what I need to be told to inform my thinking so that I am more Christ-like.

"For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul" (Psalm 109:31). God takes the side of the poor against those in judgment over them. Surely the Christian can have no reason to pass judgment on those less blessed. As the following passage describes, a Christian, who is acutely aware of the sin nature, must have a greater understanding for why the poor are in their situation, that is, the sin of mankind. "Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice" (Proverbs 13:23). What advice is there on how we ought to act out towards the poor given that we wish to stand with Christ as their advocate? "Give strong drink to him who is perishing and wine to him whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more. Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy"(Prov 31:6-9) This passage is not a recommendation that drunkenness is the best for the poor, but instead it reveals that a Christian doesn't need to be surprised to find alcoholism present in those we are called to help. And a sober, self-disciplined life is not a prerequisite to someone receiving our aid.

It feels that I could go on and on about how far I am from living up to the standards of God with respect to poverty. But I stop because I need encouragement. I want to do these things. I want to be a defender of the oppressed. Yet, I find it so difficult to leave what is comfortable, where I feel that I belong. It seems as though I might be infected if I get too close to them.

I wonder if that is how Jesus felt before he left heaven for earth?

If my savior has given up his glory and quite literally got down in the mud with the human race, is it so much for him to ask that I would reach out across the street to another man. Even if he has dirty clothes, smells of beer and is acting foolish. I don't suppose that I looked any better to Christ but he did it for me.

Shadows of Christ

One morning each week, some of the men from our church meet for conversation over scripture and prayer for one another. This has proven to be a great way of stretching our thinking and feeling; as grown men it is a really healthy exercise to be uniting with one another with a spiritual focus. This past week is a great example of one of those moments that left me with some fresh insight on a valuable subject. While looking at Hebrews chapter 8, one of the guys, mentioned that we might consider the phrase "a copy and shadow of the heavenly things" (v5). Coming from that discussion were some interesting thoughts that I have decided to share.

To give some background, the major theme of the book of Hebrews is the declaration that Jesus is now the means of being close to God. And that religion has been realigned with Jesus at the centre. The outward forms of worship have become obsolete. The Jewish tradition is rich with symbolic rituals and sacred implements that were required to fulfill the Old Testament Law, and the phrase mentioned above is in reference to these religious forms. The writer of the book is contrasting what Jesus is as opposed to what the traditions were. In this is a wonderfully freeing message for all who are willing to look for deeper, more significant connection with God found only in Jesus Christ.

The first point to be brought up, by Colin Suggett, was especially relevant to the context of Hebrews. This was, in the same way that a shadow is fleeting and temporary, the old outward religious forms of worship have passed away. We cannot grasp the fading shadow of the Law and expect to be left holding right standing with God. The Law is His creation, it was always intended to show people that they need God's mercy.

An excellent piece of insight offered by Craig Danielson, our pastor, was that a shadow requires a light source. There is no shadow which is not caused by light illuminating a form. In many ways that is precisely what the earthly tabernacle was. God's glory shone upon these symbols to cast a shadow representing the Christ who would come. The song "Cast No Shadow" by the rock band Oasis has a line in it "as he faced the sun, he cast no shadow". This affirms the truth that it is only from something of substance that a shadow is formed. Jesus, unlike the man in Oasis' song, is of great character. In actual fact it is Jesus from whom all humans have been given likeness. He is the the image for perfection. And it is from these copies and shadows of heavenly things, the details of ancient worship, that we see pictures of the priestliness, richness, sacredness of Jesus.

Shadows can tell us much about the light and form of a thing, but only if we are in a position to see them. And there is danger that we can fail to notice the good things that we have are shadows. We can be so consumed with questions of how long they will last. Or be looking somewhere else and never realize they are there. God is in the position to see beyond the edge of the shadow to look upon us and He wishes for us to awaken to see the shadows. He is using shadows to draw our eyes back to the defining image of Jesus. Are there shadows around you in your life? Have your eyes rested upon beauty and wealth? Look! All riches and things which are good and valuable are a shadow of the One who is costly beyond measure and has a beauty that will never fade.