Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect.

He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.

Hebrews 12:2 (NCV)

Jesus’ world is an upside-down world. It’s a world where less is more, servants are leaders, and the last are first. It’s a world where ease is bad and trouble is good, where empty is full, the poor are rich, and suffering is joy. How do we know? We know because of the life Jesus lived. 

Yet we all still strive to be leaders, to be rich, to be full, and we do everything in our power to avoid suffering. We follow the world as if IT sacrificed for us, as if IT paved the path to God. 

We minimize Jesus when we choose to follow the world. We make the world our idol every time we honor those with the most and ignore those with the least, every time we strive to be one of the “most” and fear being one of the “least”. Jesus had nothing as far as worldly riches, yet He is absolutely the very richest, and now billions of people worship His name! Jesus, and His upside-down world, put the American Dream to shame. Because nothing about the American Dream focuses on Him. And not one single possession, diploma, dream job, or dollar will greet us in heaven. Not ONE…but Jesus WILL!! 

Jesus suffered the cruelty of the cross because “the joy that God put before Him” is YOU! You are better than worldly riches, worth taking nails for, and are loved more than His life itself. He proved that! What more could you want? What else could you NEED? Jesus’ joy is you! Is He yours? You are loved!! 

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” Rev. 3:17