Let’s begin with a simple question. What’s your attitude toward poor people and feeding them with God’s Goodness? It’s a fascinating question that leads to the Wonderfully Weird Command: “Bring In the Poor.” Jesus said, “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:13-14 [ESV]).
Practically, we get who the people are with Jesus’ words in Luke 14. They are people economically poor. They are individuals who have long-term bodily injuries (the crippled), and the lame and blind are the ones who are visibly 100% disabled and who have lost their physical sight. It takes little effort to understand practical things, and I thank God for those who care for them on the practical side of God’s reality. However, is the practical side the whole message of what Jesus was communicating?
As a minister of Christ, let me proclaim the spiritual things of Jesus to help gain insight. The practical and spiritual aspects of Jesus’s message need understanding to resolve the world’s “poor” condition. On the flip side of practicality, Jesus’s words mean to bring in the poor who are flat-broke in God’s heavenly treasures and need a paycheck of his Truth. His words also mean to bring in individuals who operate out of long-term injured bad habits in character and need nourishing to gain good life practices (the crippled). Also, the words represent the lame as the ones requiring a spiritual footing in life; the blind are those who have lost sight of God and need to regain His vision. Spiritually speaking, these are the people Jesus commands us to “bring in” freely to feast on God’s Goodness.
When the practical and the spiritual meaning of Christ are brought together, the resolve of God will work out the poor issues of the world. I’m all for humanitarian efforts of caring for the poor – feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, providing medical care for the disabled, etc. However, if it’s done with no intention of bringing in the poor to feed them with God’s way, truth, and life (practically and spiritually [John 14:6]); we are just increasing the world’s problem addressed in the Bible, and the true intent of “Bring in the Poor” is lost.
Giving money, food, clothing, shelter, and stuff freely to the poor is partially good; however, without the opportunity to learn life skills, provide work resources, and be coached to understand life better, it is spiritually wrong. It’s a greasy rag syndrome toward the issue. The solution…God’s practical and spiritual goodness work together to resolve the crisis. It is working to grow life fully and freely concurrently to fix the challenge. Let’s all decide to “Bring in the poor” God’s way to gracefully and justly resolve life’s problems. Let’s do so to grow life collectively to rise above its challenges through the resurrection of God’s Goodness. Goodness, that blesses everyone gracefully and justly through the Wonderfully Weird Commands of Jesus.
With loving concern,