The first blessing
What does it mean to be poor in spirit? This is a quest I am on, trying to understand what the Lord was talking about in Matthew by saying; “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
I looked up what poor means in this context and was surprised to read that the Greek word is referring to public poverty. To be a beggar is someone who asks strangers for money or food. That is such a lowly place to be as a human because it is a place of relying on others to supply your needs. It also means to be homeless, which I relate to, in the sense of never feeling like this earth is my home. Like this age is just somewhere I am for the present but at any moment I will escape home for good.
So in order to have the kingdom of heaven, which means to have power and access to the abode of God, I must be in a place of lack, not just in private but in public. Ouch. Those around me should be able to recognize that my lack is deep in the human soul.
Learning about this scripture keeps taking me back to the pull I feel inside for the need to abandon everything to follow Christ. There is no room for me to take things or people with me and the place I see before me is a desert like stretch of land that has no end. In the desert there is nothing to lean on or rest upon. No big trees to sit under for a moment of shade or streams to dip in for refreshing. When you are only relying on Christ in the desert there are intense times of dryness and emptiness. I am starting to get this and my heart battles the flesh, but I will trek on with my friend.
The journey of seeking Christ is a lonely place. I finally really comprehend that I am the only one who can choose this path on the inside. No one else will be responsible for my travels to be like Jesus. The walk is a race and I am fighting against my flesh and the places of temptation, not against others. They cannot make my legs pump or my arms ride back and forth. I have to run and the pace I set will be determined by the amount of Christ I allow to infiltrate my heart.
I looked up what poor means in this context and was surprised to read that the Greek word is referring to public poverty. To be a beggar is someone who asks strangers for money or food. That is such a lowly place to be as a human because it is a place of relying on others to supply your needs. It also means to be homeless, which I relate to, in the sense of never feeling like this earth is my home. Like this age is just somewhere I am for the present but at any moment I will escape home for good.
So in order to have the kingdom of heaven, which means to have power and access to the abode of God, I must be in a place of lack, not just in private but in public. Ouch. Those around me should be able to recognize that my lack is deep in the human soul.
Learning about this scripture keeps taking me back to the pull I feel inside for the need to abandon everything to follow Christ. There is no room for me to take things or people with me and the place I see before me is a desert like stretch of land that has no end. In the desert there is nothing to lean on or rest upon. No big trees to sit under for a moment of shade or streams to dip in for refreshing. When you are only relying on Christ in the desert there are intense times of dryness and emptiness. I am starting to get this and my heart battles the flesh, but I will trek on with my friend.
The journey of seeking Christ is a lonely place. I finally really comprehend that I am the only one who can choose this path on the inside. No one else will be responsible for my travels to be like Jesus. The walk is a race and I am fighting against my flesh and the places of temptation, not against others. They cannot make my legs pump or my arms ride back and forth. I have to run and the pace I set will be determined by the amount of Christ I allow to infiltrate my heart.
posted by stephanie | 11:28 AM
3 Comments:
the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served. He bowed so low to wash our feet, the greatest extent of His love before the cross.
good revelation. keep digging deeper. i've been tripping out on what it means to be made perfect in Christ and that it is only through love that our faith is perfected and thorugh love that we can walk out the Matthew 5 lifstyle.
i love it when the Bible is so clear for a minuet then it get complicated all over again. : )
that was me and i don't know why it said anonymous.
-shan
this is so hard to swallow. i know it to be true, but it offends my mind. i'm glad though. thanks for sharing. love you!
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