Length: 3-minute read

Upside Down Faith

Every year we have a church vision and also a personal vision.
This year, our personal vision is “To live out our upside down faith and turn the world upside down.”

Christianity is an Upside Down Faith.
From the world’s perspective, Jesus’ teachings are also upside down.
If you want to be first, be last.
If you want to be great, be a servant.
If you want to be promoted, humble yourself.
If you want to be loved, love others first.
Don’t take revenge. Forgive instead.
Turn the other cheek.
Love your enemies.
Bless those who curse you.
Do good to those who hate you.
Pray for those who use you.
If that seems hard, it’s not hard.
It’s impossible!—Unless you have Jesus Christ in you.

“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too…” – Acts 17:6 (NKJV)

The Bible describes Christians as those who turned the world upside down.
That means that when we become Christians, we must be different from the world and from our old selves.
While Jesus came to save us and bless us, He also came to change us.
God is not a heavenly sugar daddy, and Jesus is not our genie in a bottle.
The problem with Christianity nowadays is that Christians only want the blessings but they do not want to renew their minds or change their character.
But the disciples turned the world upside down through their faith and character.

The truth is, we live in an upside down world.
We tend to put a premium on things that are not important and discount the things that actually matter. In a previous article, I wrote:

We live in a world where we know the price of everything but the value of nothing.
We know the price of a house but not the value of a home.
We know the price of dinner but not the value of fellowship.
Our children know the price of an iPhone but not the value of communication.

And while Jesus’ teachings are contrary to our human nature, the paradox is that deep down, we all like the “Jesus-way” of doing things.
In every epic Hollywood movie, we disdain the villain who is self-serving, and we root for the hero who risks it all to save the world.
As for that one self-preserving guy (every epic movie has one) who just wants to save his own skin? Well, he who desires to save his life, usually loses it (even Hollywood knows this).

Jesus came to turn an upside down world, upside down.
That means Jesus came to turn the world right side up again.
So this year, let’s live out our Upside Down Faith.

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If you want to listen to the sermon “Upside Down Faith” click here.