The Upside-Down Kingdom: Living by the Values of Jesus

When I was younger, I remember hearing a story about how hunters used to catch monkeys in parts of Asia and Africa. It’s really kind of simple. They take a hollow gourd, tie it to a tree, and cut a small hole in the side. The hole is just big enough for a monkey’s open hand to fit through. Then they drop a piece of fruit or something shiny inside. The curious monkey reaches in, grabs the treat, and suddenly finds its clenched fist is too big to pull back out. All it would have to do to escape is let go of what it is holding. But it doesn’t. It stubbornly holds on to what it wants, and that keeps it trapped until the hunter arrives.

We can smile at the foolishness of that little monkey—but we shouldn’t laugh too hard. Spiritually speaking, we do the same thing. We hold on to comfort, control, pride, and possessions that keep us from real freedom. Jesus calls us to let go, but that’s easier said than done – especially when what He teaches runs so opposite to what we’ve always been told.

Jesus’ teachings have always been a bit upside down—at least compared to the world’s logic. He didn’t come to reinforce popular thought; He came to replace it. And what He offered was nothing short of a complete reordering of values. Power, status, comfort, and self-preservation were out. Humility, sacrifice, service, and faith were in.

Let’s look at three moments in Jesus’ teaching that show how completely He turned our expectations inside out.

1. The Greatest Is the Servant - Mark 10:42-45

When Jesus’ disciples argued about who among them was the greatest, He didn’t scold or berate them for wanting to be great—He simply redefined what greatness looks like. He said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Then He pointed to Himself:  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

That’s not how greatness works in the world. In business, in politics, or even in our social lives, greatness usually means getting noticed, getting ahead, or getting our way. But Jesus flips that kind of thinking upside down. In His Kingdom, greatness isn’t measured by how many people serve you—it’s measured by how many people you serve.

In short, greatness wears an apron, not a crown.

2. Losing Life to Find It - Luke 9:23-24

Then there’s another paradox of Jesus that sounds backwards to our ears: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will save it.”

It’s not that Jesus wants us to live recklessly; He’s showing us that the more we try to hold on to control, the more we actually lose the very thing we’re trying to preserve. The monkey in the gourd had a clear goal—keep the prize. But what it held on to became the reason it couldn’t escape.

We often fall into the same trap. We hold on to our plans, our possessions, or our pride, thinking they’ll keep us safe. But in the end—they just keep us stuck. Jesus invites us to release our grip—to trust that real life begins when we let go of the illusion of control and hand our lives over to Him.

It’s a strange kind of math:  subtraction becomes addition, loss becomes gain, and surrender becomes freedom. 

That’s the logic of the Kingdom.

3. Blessed Are the Least - Matthew 5:1–12

And then, just when we think we’ve figured Him out, Jesus steps up on a hillside and says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit… blessed are those who mourn… blessed are the meek… blessed are those who are persecuted.”

Now, that’s not how we have used the word “blessed.” The world says, “Blessed are the rich, the confident, the successful, the comfortable.” But Jesus looks at the humble, the grieving, and the overlooked and says, “You’re the ones who are truly blessed, because the Kingdom belongs to you.”

He wasn’t offering a list of religious virtues to add to our list of things to work on; instead, He was painting a picture of a new kind of life—a life rooted not in achievement, but in dependence on God. In reality, the Beatitudes are less about climbing ladders and more about stepping down into the kind of humility that makes room for grace.

So, in Jesus’ world, the least become the most loved, and those who seem to have nothing discover they already have everything.

Turning Life Right Side Up

From beginning to end, Jesus’ Kingdom seems upside down to us—until we realize it’s actually right side up and we’re the ones who have been living upside down all along.

The world tells us to take—Jesus says to give. The world tells us to lead—Jesus says to serve. The world says hold on tight—Jesus says let go. The world says self-preservation—Jesus says self-sacrifice.

And maybe that’s why following Jesus feels hard to us sometimes—it’s not just about changing our behavior, it’s about changing our complete direction. It means loosening our grip on the things that trap us and trusting that God’s way, as backward as it seems at the moment, is the only way that truly leads us forward.

So the next time you feel stuck, like you can’t quite move forward in faith, stop and ask:  “What am I still holding onto?” It might just be your gourd moment—the thing Jesus is waiting for you to let go of so you can finally be free.

After all, the monkey never had to be trapped. He just had to open his hand.

Blood, Sweat, and Wood: The Gospel in Three Simple Things

If you are like me, sometimes, while reading the Bible, something small and unexpected grabs your attention. It’s not what I was looking for—but it won’t let go of me. That’s how I recently stumbled into noticing three surprisingly ordinary things that appear again and again in Scripture:  blood, sweat, and wood.

Together, they sound like the stuff of hard labor or maybe the name of a 70s rock band. But in the story of God, these three—blood, sweat, and wood—are not just physical materials or signs of hardship. They are sacred symbols, woven throughout the Bible, revealing the depth of God’s love and the shape of our salvation.

Blood:  The Price of Forgiveness

Blood is a recurring theme in the Bible because it represents life—and the high cost of sin.

From the earliest chapters of Genesis, blood was tied to sacrifice. After Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed them with animal skins (Genesis 3:21)—implying the first death, the first shedding of blood, to cover their shame. Later, the entire system of worship in Israel was built around animal sacrifices, offered to atone for sin (Leviticus 17:11). 

The message was clear:  sin leads to death, and forgiveness requires life to be given.

But those sacrifices were never meant to be permanent. They pointed to something greater.

The New Testament tells us that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). And yet it also proclaims something remarkable:  “But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), shed His blood once—for all. His blood didn't just cover sin for a time—it cleansed it completely.

Sweat:  The Cost of Obedience

Sweat first appears in Scripture as a consequence of sin. In Genesis 3:19, God tells Adam, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food…”—a reminder that life in a fallen world would be marked by struggle, pain, and toil.

Sweat is the sign of effort—of real work and deep wrestling. That’s why it's so powerful to remember that Jesus Himself sweat in the moments before the cross.

In the garden of Gethsemane, as He prayed with intensity and anguish, Luke tells us: “his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). The weight of the world’s sin wasn’t just physical; it was emotional, spiritual, crushing. And still, Jesus surrendered to the will of the Father:  “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Obedience, even for Jesus, came at a cost. And that reminds us: if you’re struggling to trust God or follow Him faithfully, you’re not alone. Jesus knows what it means to sweat under pressure, to pray in tears, to obey when it hurts. And He did it—for you.

Wood:  The Ordinary Made Holy

The Bible is full of meaningful symbols, but none are more unexpectedly sacred than wood.

God used wood to build Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:14), which became a vessel of salvation. He used Moses’ wooden staff to perform wonders, part the sea, and lead a nation (Exodus 4:2–4, Exodus 14:16). The Ark of the Covenant, built from acacia wood (Exodus 25:10), was the very place where God’s presence dwelled.

And ultimately, the cross—the most recognizable symbol of Christian faith—was made of two rough beams of wood. Not gold. Not stone. Just ordinary timber, splintered and stained.

That wood, lifted high on a hill, held the body of Jesus as He bore the weight of the world’s sin (1 Peter 2:24). What was once a symbol of torture became a symbol of triumph.

In God’s hands, even wood becomes holy.

An Extraordinary Message in Ordinary Things

Blood - Sweat - Wood - three simple, tangible things we might overlook in daily life. And yet, together, they carry the entire story of our salvation:

• Blood shows us the depth of God’s mercy.

• Sweat reveals the pain and perseverance of obedience.

• Wood becomes the altar where love and justice meet.

It’s no wonder that Jesus chose ordinary bread and wine—common elements—to represent His body and blood. He takes the simple and makes it sacred. He enters our world of blood, sweat, and wood—and redeems it with His love.

So the next time you come to the Lord’s table, or you find yourself sweating through a hard day, or you look at something plain and wooden—remember:  God is still in the business of transforming the ordinary into something eternal.