“”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3
During my breakout group for SLAM Kabonge, i had the privilege of being a part of a lively discussion where SLAM students challenged eachother and reflected back to one another what they had learned. During the previous session, Mr. Garner taught on Matt 19:16-26, and Matthew 5:3.
One student shared, with a beautiful smile on her face and she said, “I am very happy, because now I know the Kingdom of God is for the poor. I used to pray that God would change my life and make me rich, but now I know that I don’t have to pray that prayer anymore, because the kingdom of God is for me.”
As our group discussed what this means, they asked hard questions like “can rich people enter the kingdom of God?” And “if the kingdom of God is for the poor, why do some poor people commit crimes like stealing?”
We discussed the systems of this world, and they concluded that many poor people often resort to having to commit such crimes like stealing because they don’t have what they need to meet their basic needs. But in a world where everyone is only taking what they need, in a world where Jesus is Lord, everyone has what they need.
I challenged the girls in my group to really think through one another’s questions and use the scriptures they just leaned to find the answers within the text.
As they went back to the passage Mr. Garner preached to them on the rich young lawyer, they found that the Bible doesn’t say it’s impossible for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, but it does say that it’s very very hard. They were getting excited to see that the answers they were looking for, could be found in the words of the text they were studying.
I asked them what they think God will ask of rich people when they say they want to follow Jesus, and they responded, “to become poor. To give what they have, away.”
To close the conversation, we discussed Luke 2, Mary’s Song, and we talked about how there is an equalization of the rich and poor when God’s Kingdom comes to earth. In the kingdom of heaven the poor and needy are lifted up, while the rich are brought low.
Nothing can compare to the immense joy I was filled with to see how bright their eyes became when they shared about understanding that the kingdom of God is FOR THEM.
The theme of students learning that God wants to use THEM to change the world, and that they don’t need to depend on money to do so, was consistent throughout every SLAM week we facilitated.
To end this blog, I want to share with you something that a slam student said to me after returning to campus from service projects. She said: “I used to think that you could only make a difference by having money and resources, but now I know that I can change my community with my energy and my hands.”
God is working in Kabonge. He is at work among the youth and change is taking place here. The kingdom of God has been brought near and God’s will is being done.