Jesus’ Upside-Down Plan for the Good Life

There are people who have the mistaken impression that Jesus only talked about life after death. They think he pretty much told his followers to expect to be miserable during their human lives in the expectation that after they died he would make it up to them. Nothing could be farther from the truth. While Jesus did tell his followers to make eternal life their priority, he spoke at length and in detail about how to live in the here and now. The best and most specific treatment on this subject is called his “Sermon on the Mount”. For three whole chapters (Matthew 5 – 7) Christ talks about how those who call themselves his disciples will live. And here’s the thing, he says that living the way he describes will make them “blessed” and “happy”!

What confuses people is that Jesus’ plan for the good life on this earth demands humility, sacrifice and commitment – qualities which are just the opposite of what most people imagine make up the good life. The popular idea today is that to enjoy life a person has to pretty much have life on his or her own terms (AKA “having it your way”). You probably know a lot of people who have chosen the “having it your way” model for happiness. Is it working? Do they have the good life? Probably most people won’t admit to failure in their good life quest, but the statistics on disastrous behavior have increased at such an alarming rate that one has to wonder,

“If people are enjoying the good life,
why are they doing such crazy stuff which brings so much unhappiness into their lives?”

Jesus’ plan for the good life may seem upside down, but remember who he is. He definitely has more information on the subject than we do. Why not check his plan out this Saturday (6:00 pm) or Sunday (10:00 am)? You may find out the life he offers is exactly as he said, “The abundant life (John 10:10)”.