Imagine the scene. You’re one of the disciples of Jesus. He is traveling all around, preaching and teaching, sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God. Crowds are flooding in to hear him preach. This particular day the sun is out and the clouds are scarce. It’s a perfect day to be outside. As one of Jesus’ disciples you are talking with the others as you see the crowds descend on your location, at the foot of a mountain side. Of course you all know why they are coming. They are coming to hear your leader, your Rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, teach.
Being excited you look toward Jesus to tell him about the crowds. He already noticed for he is on his way up the mountain side. You get the attention of the others and follow him up the incline. Maybe he wants the perfect vantage point to speak to the people, you think to yourself. Eventually he finds his spot. You and the other disciples pop a squat. While you’re wondering what Jesus is going to teach on, he turns to you and the rest of the disciples and says, “Blessed are…”
We call this moment the Sermon on the Mount. Why do we call it that? Because we’re super creative. Jesus gave a sermon on a mount so we decided to call it the Sermon on the Mount. How about that for doing things with excellence?! You can find the whole sermon in Matthew 5-7.
Back to Jesus’ teaching.
He doesn’t waste any time. He goes right to a place where everyone can relate. Who doesn’t want to be blessed?
Matthew 5:5 (ESV)
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The third group of people Jesus calls blessed are the meek. Did you cringe like I did? This is that four letter word that Jesus used that may have made you cringe. Why? Well, who wakes up in the morning and sets out for his day wishing to be meek? Surely only the most spiritual of people amongst us.
What does a meek life look like?
To live a life of meekness means that you renounce your rights and give them to God. When someone harms you, you don’t respond in kind. You pray for them. When someone hits you, you turn the other cheek to them, offering it freely. When you are wronged, you don’t seek revenge, you pray for the one who wronged you.
Living a life of meekness, in many ways, means that you say no to your first inclination and yes to the still small voice of God. I’m sure this is true for you as it is for me: my first reaction isn’t always a godly reaction. Since I know this to be true I must approach the meek life with patience.
The Blessing
Jesus said that the meek are blessed, for they will inherit the earth. What earth is he talking about? Could it be this one? Well, duh! There’s only one earth! But when I look around and see who has inherited the earth I don’t see the meek as the inheritants. Instead I see people having power who are go getters, maybe even unjust individuals. The way to be successful in this life, as the world defines success, is to make a lot of money, to make it big, and to do it all over again. So maybe the meek don’t inherit this earth.
The earth that the meek inherit is the new earth that will be brought into existence at Jesus’ second coming. The individuals who will inherit this new earth, the best earth, will be those who, in this life, embraced the meek life. Yes, it may make you cringe, but we must get over it. Jesus brought into existence something brand new and we must follow Him in this new thing.
What could you do this week to begin living a more meek life?
