Blessed
are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Some interpret the meekness mentioned here as “when we act like doormats; or, to feel insignificant and without value.” That is not what Jesus is referring
to here. The Greek root word for meek used here is also the same one
Jesus uses to refer to Himself in Matthew
11:29, namely, humility, gentleness and forgiving; He is our greatest
example of what meekness looks like, our greatest example of humility, gentleness and forgiveness, and mercy. Do you think of Jesus as a doormat? This meekness is not weakness; it is a
fruit of the Spirit that we are to cultivate – imitating
Jesus’ gentleness and forgiveness; growing in humility. It takes Divine strength to be meek and humble in a self-absorbed and ego-driven culture. Why? Because we are made weak
by Adam’s sin in us, and because we live in satan’s evil world. God plants in
His redeemed children the ability to become gentle through the power of the Holy Spirit in us - surrendering to His work, He teaches us to forgive like Christ – even forgive those who mistreat us. We let
our gentleness grow by applying God’s Spirit-wrapped Word in
study and meditation, allowing it to shape our prayers and perspectives (Colossians
3:16).
It is by allowing the Spirit of God to transform our prideful hearts into
hearts that are humble, for the proud will not inherit God’s kingdom, they will not inherit the earth; we are
blessed to be God’s children (James
4:6-7; Luke
18:16-17)! That the meek shall inherit the earth
carries a couple of meanings: through God’s grace we become His children when
we repent of our rejection of Jesus, return and receive His eternal Spirit
within us; we
are adopted by God. As His children, we are heirs. We inherit what the
Father has. He tells us at Psalm
24:1
that “the earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it.” We also can add to that
the fact that in becoming God’s children through the Blood of Christ and the
Holy Spirit, we become regenerated here on earth into a new life with Christ
and enter into God’s kingdom here on earth. He re-sets us towards becoming the
rightful stewards of creation as He intended, and thus joint heirs. (Genesis
1:26-28; Titus 3:6-7; Revelation
5:9-10)
Explore
1. Is
it hard or easy for you to be gentle and forgiving? Give a reason for your
answer.
2. In
the coming days and weeks, how might you act gentle, kind, and forgiving to
family, school or work mates, friends?
3. Imitating
Jesus. Do you know someone who imitates Jesus’ gentleness and kindness that you
would like to imitate? Without naming the individual(s), give an example of
their gentleness.
4. How
meaningful is it for you, personally, that the meek will inherit the earth?
Double bonus: "I Get on My Knees," Nicole Mullen; "Known", Tauren Wells
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