June 15: Enjoying His Peace.
HIS BLESSING.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."--Matthew 5:3
Who are the fortunate, happy, and blessed ones? I am sure you have heard this classic story: "A king was suffering from a painful ailment and was told that the only cure for him was to find a contented man, get his shirt, and wear it night and day. So, messengers were sent through the king's realm in search of such a man, with orders to bring back his shirt. Months passed. After a thorough search of the country, the messengers returned without the shirt. 'Did you find a contented man in all my realm?' the king asked. 'Yes, O King, we found one, just one in all the realm?' 'Then why did you not bring back his shirt?' the king demanded. 'Master, the man had no shirt.' " *
In one of the most famous discourses, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus announces the kingdom's manifesto, highlighting who these blessed ones really are. In nine Beatitudes, Jesus turns the values of the world upside down, starting with today's devotional text: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3). In Judaism, the poor in spirit and the materially poor were closely related concepts (see Luke 6:20), as this is usually the frame of mind of those who are struggling to make ends meet. God has always shown a special concern for the needy and afflicted (see Psalm 9:18). As a matter of fact, the mission of the Messiah, fulfilled in Jesus, was focused on the poor: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor" (Luke 4:18, NKJV; see also Isaiah 61:1). How could the poor and the poor in spirit be called blessed, while the world venerated strength and power? The present tense of this particular beatitude is of much importance: "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Not will be as in other Beatitudes. The poor in spirit not only have a future inheritance but can partake of the blessings of the kingdom now, in the present. The poor have no other resource or hope than what is promised by God. And when all we have left is God, that's when we realize that God is more than enough. Yes, we are blessed!
My Response:_________________________________________________________
* Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7000 Illustrations (Rockvill, MD: Assurance Publishers 1979), 272, 273.
HIS BLESSING.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."--Matthew 5:3
Who are the fortunate, happy, and blessed ones? I am sure you have heard this classic story: "A king was suffering from a painful ailment and was told that the only cure for him was to find a contented man, get his shirt, and wear it night and day. So, messengers were sent through the king's realm in search of such a man, with orders to bring back his shirt. Months passed. After a thorough search of the country, the messengers returned without the shirt. 'Did you find a contented man in all my realm?' the king asked. 'Yes, O King, we found one, just one in all the realm?' 'Then why did you not bring back his shirt?' the king demanded. 'Master, the man had no shirt.' " *
In one of the most famous discourses, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus announces the kingdom's manifesto, highlighting who these blessed ones really are. In nine Beatitudes, Jesus turns the values of the world upside down, starting with today's devotional text: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3). In Judaism, the poor in spirit and the materially poor were closely related concepts (see Luke 6:20), as this is usually the frame of mind of those who are struggling to make ends meet. God has always shown a special concern for the needy and afflicted (see Psalm 9:18). As a matter of fact, the mission of the Messiah, fulfilled in Jesus, was focused on the poor: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor" (Luke 4:18, NKJV; see also Isaiah 61:1). How could the poor and the poor in spirit be called blessed, while the world venerated strength and power? The present tense of this particular beatitude is of much importance: "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Not will be as in other Beatitudes. The poor in spirit not only have a future inheritance but can partake of the blessings of the kingdom now, in the present. The poor have no other resource or hope than what is promised by God. And when all we have left is God, that's when we realize that God is more than enough. Yes, we are blessed!
My Response:_________________________________________________________
* Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7000 Illustrations (Rockvill, MD: Assurance Publishers 1979), 272, 273.
RSS Feed
