Readings for today: Deuteronomy 28, Mark 15:21-47
Deuteronomy 28 may be one of the most abused and misunderstood passages in all of Scripture. Mainly because we get the cart before the horse. We begin with the wrong end in mind. We look at all the blessings and curses and start to reverse engineer our lives, falsely believing this is the point. But nothing could be further from the truth. As the people of God, our focus should not be on the blessings or the curses for that matter. It should be on God. Loving Him. Enjoying Him. Growing deeper in our relationship with Him. He is the proper end. He is our main goal. He is the prize. If we make Him our supreme treasure, then all the rest falls into place. Jesus says as much in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the rest will be added unto you.”
So why do we fall into this trap? Well, if we’re honest, it’s because we value our lives in this world more than we do our life in the next. The horizons of our lives are set here on earth rather than in heaven. We want to experience all the blessings this life has to offer. We want to enjoy the rewards of this earth. We want the good life. The beautiful life. A life without care or worry. So when we read a passage like the one from Deuteronomy today, our hearts naturally start to put an equation together. Blessings flow from obedience. Rewards result from keeping God’s Law. If I receive good things in this life then it must mean God is pleased with me. But this is false doctrine. It’s a heresy called “health and wealth” gospel. And like all heresies, it is a dangerous trap to fall into. Why? Because none of us can keep the law. And if none of us can keep the law then we fall under the curse. And if we fall under the curse then God must be displeased with us. And if God is displeased with us then we are lost. A people to be most pitied. We will live our lives under fear and the constant threat that what we say or do is the key to earning or losing God’s favor. Furthermore, there are plenty of examples in Scripture of successful, wealthy, powerful people who are among the most faithless to have ever walked the earth. So clearly, worldly abundance is no measure of true godliness.
Again, I go back to the words of Jesus. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Seek first His righteousness. Store up your treasure in heaven. Run the race as if to gain the heavenly prize. Fix your eyes on Jesus. After all, was He not the most blessed man on the face of the earth? And yet, was He not also the most cursed? Was He not the Father’s highly favored One? And yet, was He not forsaken on the cross? Jesus experienced the fullness of both blessing and the curse and yet never lost sight of righteousness. Never loosened His grip on His Father’s Kingdom. As a result, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. At His name, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. In short, all the rest has been given unto Him.
Jesus is the Way, friends. His path is our path. His road is our road. His life is our life. If we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, all the rest will be added unto us. In this life or the next. If we take care of the things God cares about, He will take care of the things we care about. If we love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, we will be fully and completely satisfied in Him. The things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. So let me encourage you to stop focusing so much on the blessings or the curses and start focusing more on Jesus. Stop striving and planning and reverse engineering your life in order to earn the blessings of God and instead rest, relax, and receive the good gifts your Heavenly Father has stored up for you. Remember the words of the most ancient benediction in Israel from Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His faces to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” All the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. Trust Him. Believe Him. Set your heart on Him today.
Readings for tomorrow: None