God’s Upside-Down Economy
Jesus turned the religious world upside down when He came on the scene. The teachers of the law had added their own man-made rules to earn favor with God. But the principles Jesus taught the crowds challenged the religious systems of that day. People were faced with the deeper truths Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God. It was like nothing they had ever heard before. Let’s look at a story in Luke that gives evidence of Jesus’ higher way of thinking. It just might turn your world upside down as well.
Read Luke 14:7
1. What does the Lord notice the guests are doing at this wedding feast?
Read Luke 14:8
2. What does the Lord say a guest should not do and why?
Read Luke 14:9
3. What results when that happens?
Read Luke 14:10
4. What does the Lord suggest the guest do instead? What will result from that kind of attitude?
Luke 14:11
5. What basic principle is encouraged here and what are the results? How can you live this out in your life?
The Amplified Bible reads, “Go and recline in the lowest place so that when your host comes in he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.'”
We’ve been studying the call to come up higher, and these scriptures give us another perspective on what that means. God’s economy is seemingly upside down to our way of thinking. How many times do we try to push ourselves to the front of the line to get the best offer. Or push our young children forward so they won’t get left out of the mix? We often try to exalt ourselves, but Scripture tells us to take the lowest position in order to insure higher results. Jesus says that the way to go higher is to go lower. God says He exalts the humble. It sure goes against the grain of our flesh to take the lower place. But what a way to the top!
They were choosing their seats – Jesus put a parable to ones there. We are not to sit down in a choice seat – but we should wait because there could be someone more chosen than us. Because we might be asked to move to another seat and a less chosen seat – we should never think of ourselves as the bests of the group of people. You or I should sit in the back seat and then we might be asked to move up forward – we get to worship with the ones who have the front seats – you know the seat really does not matter as long as we are in the presence of GOD – all seats are the same for HIS children – or at least that is the way I always feel – just to be chosen of the LORD is the only thing that really matters in our lives – not what people think or treat us. GOD’S presence is always the best. Being exalted by people is not the same as being chosen by GOD – we should always be humble and then GOD will exalt us into much higher places. Thanks again – Karen – for a wonderful lesson. I just want to be one of the little ones down here on this earth – then be exalted by GOD.