The Beatitudes: An Eternal Inheritance

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" - Matthew 5:5 

Who are the meek? So often the word is associated with weakness and timidity. As Jesus stands on a hill, outside of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee, He is addressing a mixed crowd of Jewish leaders, laborers and gentiles. Amidst this crowd are folks just like you and I. Some are angry with God, some are afraid of God, some are unbelieving and some are arrogant and self-righteous. As He lay out the guidelines for those seeking heaven, there is a pointedness to His statement about the meek. For in this situation I believe Jesus is referring to humility.

I was attending a conference on "investing for success" a few years ago. Speaker after speaker came on stage and laid out their ideas for breaking through the barriers which separate the extremely wealthy from the not so wealthy. Do this, do that, give us your money and trust that we will invest it and make you rich. Instant pleasure, the shortest path, easy money; people, by their general nature, are self-serving as were the people gathered on that hill listening to Jesus speak. It's not our fault you see, it goes back to original sin. Man has never been content with life. There is always more than what we have, and as far back as history goes man has been seeking it.

What Jesus is telling the Pharisees, tax collectors, Sadducees, Scribes and commoners on that hill though was contradictory to that inherent belief. For to find true wealth meant to humble oneself as the "meek" did. I imagine people left that hill confused on that day. Just like the conference I attended, they had come expecting to hear the key to breaking the bondage of oppression and finding their way to success. What they heard was the opposite.

So the lesson for us, 2000 years later, is no different. True success and wealth is found in serving, humility and meekness; and I don't mean weak or timidity. Love others, seek those who need help and do something about it. The wealth you seek should not be of this world, but of eternity. The money and possessions you gather here is worthless after you die, and face it, you are going to die - right? This doesn't mean that money and possessions are evil. Actually, they’re not. The love of money and possessions is. Seek wealth so that you may expand His Kingdom and bring more people to a relationship with Christ. You will be fulfilling Jesus' direction in Matthew 5:5. For you see, the true inheritance is in heaven not in this world.

Humble Thyself

Read It, Learn It, Live it, Share It

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” – Matthew 5:5

When you close your eyes can you see Your Savior standing on the rolling green hills along the Sea of Galilee?  I can imagine His strong voice booming as He walked amongst those who were gathered on the hill that day, seated on the ground.  These children of Israel from the land of Judah had gathered that day to hear His words and get a glimpse of this man who spoke wisdom with authority beyond anything they had heard from the Scribes and Pharisees of the day.  He spoke with love, gentleness and confidence; but without the pride and demeaning tones of others.  He was not placing demands on them as others had done, but rather educating them to a different calling.

He was advising them to be humble, peaceful, patient and willing to serve others.  A complete contradiction to the lives of those in authority, that they were used to.  In today’s world the word meek implies weakness, timidity and cowardness – a state of near helplessness.  Jesus was telling us that the opposite is true.  His words were that acts of authority and strength should be rooted in love and humility.  Time has proven that those in positions of true authority and power, gain the respect of others through serving and struggling alongside of them.  We observe the life of King David or Moses, Joshua or Paul the Apostle and see men who humbled themselves before the Lord to achieve that which the Lord had planned for and through them.

The inheritance of the earth can only be given by the Most High, the owner and creator of the earth.  For one to receive an inheritance the owner must choose to give it.  In this particular case I believe that Christ is describing the ultimate inheritance possible.  For who could give anything greater than the whole earth?  At the time of this sermon on the mount though, the term earth would have represented land, and more specifically the land God had promised their forefathers – the Land of Canaan.  This land represented the perfect Kingdom of God, promised to the children of Israel.  By stating that they could inherit the earth, He was actually stating that they could inherit the Kingdom of God by being humble, loving, peaceful, patient and by serving others.

This opened the door for all mankind to receive the inheritance, not just the select few in authority at the top of the hierarchy.  From the smallest child to the oldest fisherman in the village along the Sea of Galilee, the Kingdom of God was made available.  Walking amongst the people seated on the grassy hill, He reached out to them with a calmness, truthfulness and authority beyond Himself.  His life had demonstrated this before their very eyes for that brief few years of His ministry.  He had not come violently, full of pride and taken this position of authority.  No He had come in love, a bond servant to mankind and filled with peace and humbleness before God Almighty.  In doing so they found Him approachable, lovable and filled with a spirit unlike any other that had ever come through their cities.  His meekness was intoxicating and His authority was believable because of this character trait.

We all need to learn this lesson as well.  Through pride, arrogance and selfishness one can achieve great things in this life.  But all of that is fleeting and means nothing when life comes to an end.  The call of Jesus Christ is to live in meekness in this life and plan for the rich inheritance in the life to come with Him and the Father through eternity.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For additional Daily Thoughts, please visit: http://www.10minutereader.com