Podcast: "The Way" through The Sacred Gap (Part 11), Ep. 31

Starting With The End In Mind: The Cost of Calling

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew‬ ‭5:10‬ ‭NIV‬

In this penultimate episode of "The Way Through the Sacred Gap", Aric and Tyler explore the startling conclusion to Jesus’ vision in the Beatitudes: persecution. Why would Jesus end his list of blessings with suffering, rejection, and slander?

This deeply personal and theological conversation unpacks how the final Beatitudes (vv. 10–11) reveal the cost of true Kingdom calling. Through stories of military service, cultural reflection, and the backdrop of spiritual warfare, this episode explores Jesus’ surprising turn to persecution—not as a burden, but as the most compelling invitation he could offer. When we truly catch the vision of the Kingdom, we awaken to the one thing every heart is longing for—the one thing for which no price is too high.

This episode challenges listeners to examine the unspoken “shadow stories” of comfort, control, and individualism, and invites them to embrace the larger mission of carrying wholeness into a fractured world. The Way through the sacred gap ends here—with a commissioning to carry the Kingdom project forward as people of mercy, loving fearlessly in the face of a fierce and ruthless enemy.

About the Series:

The more we understand Jesus' invitation into the Kingdom life, the more compelling it becomes. In The Way Through the Sacred Gap, Tyler and Aric explore Jesus’ opening words from the Sermon on the Mount, where he offers a vision of healing and transformation—one that frees us from our “shadow stories” into lives fully lived in the true story of the Kingdom: you are loved, you belong, you are chosen, and you have nothing to prove.

The distance between these two realities—our shadow stories and the true Kingdom—is what we’ve called the sacred gap. And once we see the gap, the obvious question follows: “How do I cross it?” It turns out Jesus gave an answer. The early Kingdom communities called themselves followers of The Way—the very way Jesus lays out in his most compelling sermon.

To contact Aric or learn more about The Intentional Dad, visit: www.theintentionaldad.org