"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."-Matthew 5:3
To come to the realization that I have nothing to offer God that will earn His favor is difficult for me. I wrestle with, no...I am in heated battle with my prideful flesh that wants to be able to come to God and say, "look over there Lord, did you see what I did for You?" We want God to see what we call the "good stuff" that we do but not the bad. However, God sees it all and says, "ALL that YOU'VE done is like filthy rags (Is. 64:6), I had no part in it." This is the crushing blow! I retreat into a fetal position, cover my face with one hand and dare to hold out the other and cry out to God in desperate need! It is in that moment that I recognize my place. I am a dog begging for the crumbs from the Master's table (Matthew 15:26-28), a spiritual beggar. It is only when I realize this solemn truth that God comes near and draws me to Himself. Yes, only after my heart has been broken and my spirit crushed that I might recognize my total dependency on God (Psalm 34:18). Sometimes this has to happen several times a day for God to bring me to a place where He can use me.
Psalm 24 reveals that only those with clean hands and pure hearts may enter God's presence. Here's the irony...none of us have clean hands and pure hearts! Only God can perform such a transformation. King David recognized this and we see his appropriate response to his wretchedness in Psalm 51. This doesn't mean that we are to sink into a deep dark depression that paralyzes us. Instead, we are to allow the light of God's word to pierce the deep, dark recesses of our hearts, expose our sinful pride for what it is, and purge it from us (Eph. 5). After all, God doesn't use the proud, He opposes them (James 4:6). If we are to truly be partakers of His grace, we are to be in a constant state of being reminded that we are not spiritual giants but rather spiritual beggars who are grateful that God doesn't pass by and ignore our pitiful, shameful, outstretched hand but instead grabs it and pulls us to Himself in an embrace and treats us like sons and daughters.
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I have traveled to many international cities where beggars are commonplace. They reside on every corner and in every city their M.O. is the same. They approach and call out to the rich, to the ones who appear, at least, to have something they don't. Never have I seen a beggar approach another beggar and ask for a handout.
ReplyDeleteHerein lies our problem. We do not recognize or understand who God is and what He has to offer us. In our sinfully distorted relationships, we are beggars calling out to other beggars, hoping to exchange our filthy rags for theirs.
To truly understand what it means to be "poor in spirit" we must understand the contrasting picture of the Great I Am. It is true that our pride and culturally perpetuated "self-esteem" prevent us from falling face-down in front of God over our sins. But the lack of understanding and knowledge about the God we serve, the God who created us and the world we live in, this is what leads us to bow down in front of man.
To recognize our place in God's kingdom is to know who God is and who we aren't.