Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed..."
I think it is clear that though some translations render this word as 'Happy', this is not what is meant. 'Happy' implies a subjective state, but blessed implies an objective state; a gift bestowed from outside. It may or may not be associated with 'Happiness'.
"...poor in spirit..."
I think what is described here is the knowledge of the poverty of being a fallen human; the limitations; the faultiness; the powerlessness; the sinfulness... It is the experience of lack and dependency an all things that arises from the clear view (afforded by the illumination of the Spirit) that;
"There is no-one righteous, no-one who seeks God, all have turned away";
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?".
It is the picture of the pleading sinner before God as opposed to the proud Pharisee in Jesus parable.
It is the contrast between the 2 criminals crucified on either side of Jesus.
It is the place to which Jesus leads the Samaritan women at the well.
It is the experience of Peter who denied Jesus 3 times.
"...for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
This is the blessedness bestowed upon those who are poor in Spirit. It is a life furnished with the capacity to live within the Kingdom.
Now is a good time to clarify - I don't think poverty of spirit is an end in itself. No, it is simply to place to which fallen human beings must go in order to be rightly oriented towards God. It is a clearing away of the old, worn furniture of pride and self-righteousness, and independance which we have become accustomed to. It is the spring clean needed in order that a new creation makeover can be worked in our lives, and so the Kingdom be manifest in us. Like any cleaning process it will be at times uncomfortable even painful.
When we (in Adam and Eve and in ourselves) have pursued/pursue our own way of living it has been/is an act of defiance against the God who is there and has spoken. The reversal of this (Kingdom of heaven) begins and continues in the Christian life and it requires a humbling, a turning, an acknowledgement of fault and weakness, a certain sorrow... a poverty of Spirit. It will be the ongoing experience of the Christian in these 'in between' times.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
1 comment:
Thanks for your post. I look forward to reading the series.
It seems to me a that as we mature as Christians we become more and more aware of how broken and sinful we really are.
Post a Comment