Up-side Down or Right-Side Up?

A young man came to Jesus wanting to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus told him to keep the commandments. He told Jesus he had done that since the time he was a child, so Jesus went to the heart of the matter and told him to go and sell everything he had, give it to the poor and then come be one of Jesus disciples. The young man went away sad because he had great wealth. Jesus had exposed the young man’s heart; he believed that he had kept the commandments, but Jesus showed him that his wealth had taken God’s rightful place as first in his life.

This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.
Matthew 19:30 (MsgB)

What will it take for us to see things God’s way? Someone has described what Jesus said like this: “God’s kingdom is a kingdom upside-down.” If only we could go stand on our heads and see things from God’s perspective in His inverted Kingdom. Truth be told when we see things as God does we discover that His Kingdom is really right-side-up and it is our priorities that are topsy-turvy.

Our world values wealth and power, yet these things will not gain you a position in God’s Kingdom. If anything what makes you somebody important in the eyes of the world may actually keep you out of God’s Kingdom. Thankfully what is impossible for man, God can do. God can change the upside-down priorities of the world that our hearts embrace and turn them right-side-up so we can see things God’s way.

Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith will go down in NFL history as the first two black coaches to take their teams to the super bowl. But what most people don’t know is that both of them are also Christian coaches who live out their faith in the locker rooms and practice fields. They resist using the profanities and anger to motivate players. Dungy said, “I really wanted to show people that you can win all kinds of ways. It's a good thing to see guys have success when it maybe goes against the grain, against the culture.” Soft-spoken, kindhearted men who made it to the top—God’s way.

If God can help them see things His way and live their lives right-side-up instead of up-side down, then don’t you think He can and will help you too? Why not ask the Lord to change your perspective today?