Jesus most famous sermon is recorded for us in Matthew 5-7. Jesus introduction to the sermon is a series of statements about what it means to be blessed. The concept of Jesus' day is often found in our thinking today that if God blesses me I will have money, power and influence. The wealthy Jewish leaders beleived they were blessed by God with their positions of authority and wealth. Jesus turns that concept upside down with his statements about blessing. Blessing has the meaning of "favored" or "happy." God looks at us as favored in His eyes and we can therefore have a since of happiness and joy.
Blessed are the poor in spirit - (NIV)
God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him (NLT)
Humble men are very fortunate (Living Bible)
You're blessed when you are at the end of your rope...with less of you there is more of God and His rule. (The Message)
Being poor is not a sign of godlessness. In fact you can be blessed by God and be poor. When we are financially poor we have limited options and we have to focus on what is essential. There are many warnings in the Bible about what being wealthy can do to your soul.
Understanding that our spirit is poor without God leads us to a place of depending more and more on God and less and less on all the stuff that isn't God. If we want to receive all of God's blessings we need to allow ourselves to decrease as we allow Jesus to increase within us. We learn to die daily to ourselves and become more and more alive in Christ. If Jesus is the King of our hearts, the Messiah of the World than He can be trusted to rule our hearts and bless our lives as He sees fit.
What do we gain if we are poor in spirit and trust in God daily?
- For theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (NIV, NLT, Living Translation)
Keys to the Kingdom today and for all eternity. Pretty good inheritance offer. Our loving Father gives us all we need for our spiritual journey today and everyday. Treasure beyond compare and beyond our understanding.
Don't waste your life chasing treasure that will fade away when Jesus is offering us His blessing and His Kingdom.
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