Hello and welcome to Van life Devotions. Leading up to Easter, we are looking at each of the Beatitudes – the incredible teaching of Jesus that was a part of His famous Sermon on the Mountain.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked at the first two Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” and “Blessed are those who mourn”. Let’s look at today’s beatitude – Matthew 5 verse 5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 NIV).
I find this Beatitude, like the others, so counterculture – particularly in our modern world. In our world, going up is the way to success - up the corporate ladder, up our wages, up our abilities. The word has a sense of victory and success. We rise up against gravity, the odds, the crowd or whatever happens to get in the way. We ascend to fame, money, spotlights, power, and pleasure. Up, clearly, is the direction of success.
And yet, when we look at this word “meek”, it seems that Jesus wants us to learn to go the opposite direction. Meek is a rather difficult word to translate but it has the idea of gentleness and self-control, both of which are fruit of the Spirit. Humility is perhaps a good interpretation of what Jesus means.
This Beatitude is very similar to Psalm 37 verse 11, “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity” (Psalms 37:11 NIV). As Canon Michael Green puts it: “It is revolutionary stuff! It says that victory goes not to the wise or the strong but to someone who is so small before God that God can afford to exalt them without the danger of them getting proud”.
While up seems to be the way to success according to the world, Jesus says, “and so is going down” – being humble by serving others and dependant on the Lord. This takes strength in all sorts of ways. A little later, Jesus taught: “If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest” (Matthew 20:26 GNB).
Are you a leader of a club, at work, in your church? I wonder, where do you park? Do you have a reserve section right next to the front door? Do you self-promote who you are and your title? Do you only have lunch with those on your level?
Are you ambitious, looking to excel in your field? Good on you but remember the biblical value of meekness.
Jesus said that the meek are blessed because they will inherit the earth. Other biblical references often relate “inherit” as entrance into the “Promise Land”. When Jesus mentioned this, it was not about a geographical place. It was about entering the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1).
Wow. Another countercultural teaching by our Lord. A wonderful value to ask God for – meekness.
Let’s pray.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you left Your glorious throne in heaven and became a servant on earth. Help us to practice meekness in all aspects of our life. O God, preserve us who travel; surround us with your loving care; protect us from every danger; and bring us in safety to our journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
David Moyes
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