Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will
inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the poor in Sprit. Many times, when I think of “poor in Spirit” I think of a quiet, shallow Christians. After thinking about it for a while, I realize that this isn’t the definition. Poor in spirit actually means a strong, faithful Christian. Now, not a boastful, loud Christian, but one who is humble. I think that is the specific meaning of poor in Sprit. It’s a humble person who is living a dedicated life for Him. Many times, proud treacherous people don’t realize their need for God. The humble person is usually the one that sees the need for God in His life and will try to attain a relationship with Him. And quite frankly, that is why a lot of times, we see more dedicated Christians in poorer parts of Latin American countries then here in the US where we have every available material and resource at our reach. Sadly, that the truth about the Christian life nowadays. It’s a shallow, undedicated life to God. It doesn’t have to be that way though. We can be the change and begin living our life wholeheartedly for God. I’m sure that if we make changes in our lives and begin living in the way that pleases God, people will notice. They’ll notice and want to change themselves. We can be a spark in someone’s life for them to turn to the Lord and begin living for Him as well. The Bible also promises a reward for those who choose Him…
You see, this verse says that the kingdom of Heaven belongs to he who is poor in Spirit. We already covered what it means to be poor in Spirit and know that we can be that way. If we believe in what Christ die for us on the Cross, we are God’s children, thus, the kingdom belongs to us. The Bible is promising it to us here!
Notice that the Beattitudes all start with “Blessed is”. Each one tells us how to be blessed by God. This means more than happiness. It doesn’t promise success, pleasure or material things. It does promise though a life of joy in Christ and God’s protection and blessings over us. It means that even if outward circumstances are sad and frustrating, inwardly, we can feel his peace, hope and joy. As His children, God protects us. He wants the best for us and will never leave us.
What do you think poor in Spirit means?
What do you think Jesus meant when he says the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to us?
I’d love to hear any comments you have on this! :)
~Sophie
Great post! :D
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think poor in Spirit means?
To be honest I really never thought of it that way. In fact, I really never understood what it meant. I thought it meant to be depressed, which would make the verse make no sense at all.
Now I do see your point, and I guess humble would pretty much covers it all. I also think that people who are persecuted tend to have more of a "poor spirit."
What do you think Jesus meant when he says the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to us?
Good question! And it's really tricky too. Its tricky because we know that the kingdom of heaven is, just that, heaven, and we can only go to heaven trough Christ. There seems to be a contradictory here, but there isn't, there never really is. So, what could Jesus mean by "Kingdom of Heaven?" Well, the only other beatitude that mentions the Kingdom of Heaven is the last one, about persecution because of righteousness. Well, if your persecuted because of righteous, you are already saved, right? So could it be that the poor in spirit are already saved? Accepting the gift of salvation takes humbleness 100%! We need to admit that we are messed up, and accept the most guilt provoking gift of all. Sounds like you need to be poor in spirit to accept it.
The second part of Jesus' statement seems to be linked with His statement, "You must be like a little child to inherit the kingdom of heaven." In order to depend fully upon Jesus as a little child depends on his mother, you must be poor in spirit (humble). Great thoughts, Sophie!
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