Blessed Are The Meek, For They Will Inherit The Earth

 

 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

Blessed are Those Who Mourn, for They Will Be Comforted

 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The word translated “mourn” here means a deep grieving. It is true that God is a God of comfort to those who mourn the death of a loved one or lost relationship (2 Corinthians 1:3-5), and that God’s comfort surpasses any other, as we know that all perfect healing will happen in heaven. Yet, the inference here in this beatitude  goes beyond even that. It is one of deeply grieving our sins that have separated us from God, so the translation from Greek would be “Blessed are those who deeply grieve their sins that have separated them from God.”  As Ephesians 2:1-2 indicates, before our surrendering our lives to God, we were like “dead men/dead people walking” - we had no way to rectify that situation on our own. We were helpless. We rejected Jesus, and so lived and walked in the darkness of the world under the power of satan. (Romans 1:20-22; Ephesians 5:8) The ruler of this world – satan – is doing everything he can to keep us away from the only true God. Yet, by God’s amazing grace, God reaches down through all eternity to call us out of the mire of sin and darkness. God the Holy Spirit prods us and pings us, even allowing us to make choices that will bring despair or suffer troubles if we don’t immediately respond to His call, so that we can call out to Him and seek His face. The Holy Spirit pursues us – like the Father in  Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, so that, by God’s grace, at some point we, too, may respond to the Spirit, falling down on the rock and hard place of sin and grieving the mess we’ve made by rejecting all God has done in Christ for us. The Spirit delights when we respond to His insistent call to us to “wake up” and to lament our sins – both “gross” and “respectable”. To recognize that the only source of release from the captivity and oppression of sin and its penalty – eternal death – is through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, refers to this recognition as “godly sorrow” – a sorrow or mourning generated through the Spirit’s prodding that leads us to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). In response to our grieving and repentance, God forgives us, surrounds us with His comfort, pouring out His grace on us and His Spirit into us. We receive the bounty of blessings – entrance into forever relationship with God, finding our true comfort—our peace -- in Christ, and in knowing that because of what He did at the cross, God has guaranteed our eternity with Him, and that He will lavish His love, grace, and mercy upon us (Ephesians 1:3-14). Have we mourned our sins? Do we mourn the sins that still befall us even though we are saved? It is never too early or too late to do so.

Explore

·       Do you remember a time when you grieved the loss of something or someone? How did that make you feel? Did you cry?

·       Why do you think that Jesus wants us to mourn our sinfulness? What might mourning the sinfulness of rejection of Jesus look like?

·       Is Jesus’ blessing of peace enough for you? Why do you answer that way?

Bonus: "Forgive Me, Lord, For I Have Sinned", Nathan Surgenor

Blessed Are the Poor In Spirit, for Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Some commentators interpret this passage as ‘the poor are blessed people.’ It is true that many people in Jesus’ day were poor; those who listened to Jesus’ sermon were mostly the common, ordinary and often poor persons who had been oppressed by taxes, stringent laws and regulations, and low wages. Jesus, in His humanity, grew up in a poor village; He even speaks about Himself as being homeless!


Yet, this is not the poverty that the first beatitude refers to.

This blessing relates to an impoverishment of spirit -- being spiritually poor before God.

What does “spiritually poor” mean? It means we don’t know what we think we know about God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit; our knowledge and awareness of God are so limited that we have a skewed vision of who He is. We are impoverished or spiritually poor when we do not have the right relationship with God. (Compare Romans 1:20-22,28)

So, what does a right relationship with God look like? It begins when God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit: through His Spirit-authored Word the Bible, through prayer, and other ways (this calling is an individualized call unique for that person; only God knows how, when, where His Spirit will initiate the call). When we truly listen to and receive the Spirit’s call or prompting, we must respond to God, humbly surrendering mind, heart, and soul to Christ. We repent, i.e., turn away from our sinful attitudes, behaviors and from rejecting Jesus and His rightful Lordship over us. We seek, we beg God’s forgiveness. When our hearts are submitted to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, God pours out His grace on us; we are “cleansed” by the Word and Blood of the Lamb, and we receive God’s salvation and His Holy Spirit in us to enable us to follow Christ (see at verse 13 in the Ephesians link). As Ephesians 1:3-14 tells us, we become spiritually rich when we receive a father-child relationship with God.

As Christ followers who are spiritually rich, ours is the kingdom of heaven; we have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of God’s Son, which is the kingdom of heaven (Colossians 1:12-14). What is the kingdom of heaven, this kingdom of God’s Son? This kingdom, God's seat of authority, emanates from heaven where God dwells – Christ is its King. God’s kingdom of heaven is invisible in that it does not have a geographic location, a physical building or estate on earth; God’s throne is not visible to the human eye. God’s kingdom is the place of relationship with God, built on the richness of His love and grace, His justice and character, His mercies, His salvation. It is the rule or reign of God as Sovereign in our lives. It is visibly the universal Body of Christ, the True Church (those called out of satan’s kingdom of darkness – the 'ekklesia') in whose hearts Christ reigns – true disciples of Christ still living on earth and those who have been translated into the heavenly home (2 Corinthians 5:1) who represent God’s ways and authority. They belong to the light, to the kingdom and the kingdom is theirs; they are Citizens of God’s kingdom through the work of the Spirit, people who are obeying the commands of Christ and worshiping Him alone and sharing this good news with others, inviting them to enter the way of the Light of Life. (for further reference, see Jesus' preaching on what the kingdom of heaven is in Matthew 13:1-53, which He taught via parables)

Jesus does not want us to continue poor in spirit; He desires us all to come into a saving relationship with Him and to inherit the spiritual riches God has stored up for us. (John 3:16-17; Matthew 25:34)   When we are finally awakened in our desires, in our heart and spirit to our desperate need for Christ and pursue it -- and God transfers us to His kingdom of light, we receive not just a single blessing, but continual blessings for an eternity!

 

Explore

·       Imagine that you receive a notice that a bank account has been set up in your name and that each year $300,000 would be deposited into it tax-free, along with a home for life, the best education, and authority to live your life honorably and with purpose. What would be your response to the donor?


How is this illustration similar to this beatitude? How may it be different?

 

·       Which one do you think is worse: being spiritually poor or being financially poor? Why did you give that answer? 

·       If you become spiritually rich, what would you do with your riches?

Bonus: "You Know My Name" - Tasha Cobbs Leonard; "I'd Rather Have Jesus", Kevin Smith and Day III Chorale; "Who Am I", Casting Crowns

[view an overview of why the Beatitudes here]