The Jesus I Never Knew

I've been reading Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew for the past few weeks. The following quote is from the chapter on the Beatitudes. After reading it, I'm left wondering whether Jesus would be particularly impressed by me, or even by the church that I serve.

Various scenes in the Gospels give a good picture of the kind of people who impressed Jesus. A widow who placed her last two cents in the offering. A dishonest tax collector so riddled with anxiety that he climbed a tree to get a better view of Jesus. A nameless, nondescript child. A woman with a string of five unhappy marriages. A blind beggar. An adultress. A man with leprosy. Strength, good looks, connections, and the competitive instinct may bring a person success in a society like ours, but those very qualities may block entrance to the kingdom of heaven. Dependence, sorrow, repentance, a longing to change--these are the gates to God's kingdom.