Daily Devotion

Over the next several weeks I thought we’d focus on the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes (Blessed are the…). Before we begin, however, we need to understand what Jesus is doing here. Sometimes these passages are read as a new set of commandments or as Christian secret to happiness.

However, these statements aren’t prescribing what we must do in order to be blessed (or even saved) by God, they are describing how God blesses us. In other words, this isn’t, “If I ‘x’, then God will ‘y’.” It’s a list of several ways God blesses His people and in situations which may run contrary to how our culture thinks of being blessed.

With this in mind…

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3

Sometimes we think we must become the greatest Christian ever. The more faithful I am and the less I sin, the more God will love me, the more He will bless me. That is certainly how the world seems to work. If I work harder, I get a raise. If I do the things people want, they will like me. However, God is different than the world. Here He is blessing the poor in the spirit, not the spiritually rich.

What does it mean to be poor in spirit?

Most of us know that we are, at least to some extent, poor in spirit. God has given us all a conscience and we know there are times we do things that aren’t right…a lot of times. However, the Bible shows us that we aren’t just lacking a little bit. It’s not like we’re the spiritually middle-class who can give a decent amount, but need God to cover the rest. The Bible shows us just how poor in spirit we really are.

To be spiritually poor means to not have anything to contribute in our relationship with God.

This can seem bad at first. It’s scary to see how sinful we really are and how unrighteous we are. Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us without hope. He sent His Son to die for us, to be that savior we so desperately need. Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:15

It is through the preaching of the Good News of Jesus received in faith that we are brought into the God’s Kingdom. In Matthew 11:5, when asked by John the Baptist if He was the Christ, Jesus replied with a series of things from Isaiah that the Messiah would do and showed how He was doing them. This includes, “the poor have good news preached to them.”

This is the Kingdom of God that Jesus was sent to establish and this is the same Kingdom of God which we have through faith in Jesus Christ.

Yes, we are poor in spirit, but know that you are blessed! For Jesus came to bring us into the Kingdom of God. We don’t have to earn it or buy it. He gives it to us as a gift…as a blessing…received by faith. What a wonderful blessing God has given us!

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

We confess that we have sinned against You and our fellow man. We are poor in spirit. Thank You for sending Your Son to die for us. Establish Your Kingdom of the Gospel in our hearts.

Amen.