But I Tell You

If you’re planning on reading today’s chapter (Matthew 5) but haven’t yet, here’s what I suggest: Try really hard to pretend you’ve never read it before. Come into it like you don’t know anything about it. Read it with fresh eyes.

If you do, you’ll realize that Jesus is proposing the most counter-cultural, upside down living, in the most counter-cultural, upside down Kingdom. Every line drips of it. One of the clues is the recurring, “You have heard it said… But I tell you…” refrain.

So here’s what I think is weird. Do you think Christians today are known for being counter-cultural and upside down? No way. Right? If anything, we’re known as people who are trying to uphold the status quo, keep order. I don’t know how it happened, but Jesus tried to flip things over, and we’ve flipped them back.

So is there any chance we could invert back to upside down again? Want to try it?