shareyourstorynow.org

JASON GRAY: Hopefully all my songs are Biblical. I’m probably a theologian at heart, and am always wanting to communicate a very specific theological idea through each of my songs. Specifically, there is a song on my album, “All the lovely losers,” which is about the Beatitudes. As a young believer, I used to think that the kind of disciple that Jesus was looking for was a person who looked strong and competent, and who didn’t struggle with fear or doubt. And so I used to work so hard to be so strong and to look like I had my act together, which was difficult for a guy with a speech handicap to do, whose weakness is very apparent and obvious every time I open my mouth, you know. But I was so relieved to read in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 where Jesus describes exactly for us the kind of person he prefers, when he says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, and blessed are the meek, and blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. And blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, perhaps they do not have any of their own to lean on. Blessed are the merciful, those who look in the mirror and see how much mercy they need for themselves, and so hopefully they’re willing to extend it to others.” It’s not a list of winners that he’s describing here, so it seems to me that he’s saying, “Blessed are the losers,” and I’m grateful for that because that means there’s room for me in God’s kingdom.