Before we dive into that, let's back up a bit. Jesus began His ministry with nine statements called "the Beatitudes."
I remember, as a child, learning about The Beatitudes. To me, I saw them as a list of things I had to accomplish in order to please God to get into heaven. In other words, if I did this, then I would get that. Come to think of it, that is literally what I was taught. By the time I was a teenager, I realized I had two choices—to dumb down what Jesus said and hope for the best; or work toward becoming this perfect person I thought He expected me to be. Needless to say, I chose the former. Actually, what I did, was walk away from Him. Religion caused me decades of leaning on my own understanding and trying to control my life in my own strength.
Beatitude means blessing or supreme blessedness. Thankfully, Jesus was not giving us a "how to" list of gaining heaven, rather a reflection of those who already have. That is to say, it is not something you do, it's who you become when Jesus lives in you.
In Genesis 11 we're introduced to two kingdoms: the kingdom of man and the kingdom of God. These two kingdoms are woven throughout humanity. The tower of Babel was man's attempt to build a stairway to heaven—enter religion and man's desire to be their own god. But God, in his mercy, who knew left to himself man would implode, frustrates the plans of man to draw them back to Himself.
This looks eerily familiar. Our world is in chaos, people are trying to achieve godhood, worshiping idols of all kinds. Truth is called lies and lies called truth. Lines are blurred and right is wrong. There is no moral truth. Instead of morality beginning with God, it's now based on who you are and what you believe. And then there's religion, a false belief that you can work your way to a god of your choice.
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, . . . Matthew 5:1-2 NASB
Jesus went up on a hill so the hearer could hear. He sat down, I like that. He invited people to Himself, I like that too. He never forced anyone. He began to teach in order to undo the damage of dogmatic religion (and man’s ego) and replace it with truth.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3 NIV
Okay, here's where we started, what does it mean to be poor in spirit? And furthermore, why do they get the kingdom of heaven?
Poor in spirit is not acquired by merit—or piety—or status. It's not self-appointed—or inherited—or even taught. So how does one become poor in spirit? I wish it was like this—Bam, you're poor in spirit, but it's not that simple. Truth never is.
Jesus started by talking about those who are poor in spirit as a condition of the heart that is given by the Spirit of God to the believer. I used to think He was talking about poverty as a financial condition or lacking of some sort. I've even heard it described as being downcast or depressed. However, Jesus was not describing a physical condition at all, but a spiritual one. A spiritual bankruptcy; an awareness of depravity and hopelessness without God; a need for Him.
The closer we walk with Jesus, our inherent need for Him is realized. The smaller we get, the bigger He becomes—and it is in that awareness, Jesus said, we inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Please join me over the next few weeks as we unpack the Beatitudes. No matter where you find yourself, my prayer is that by the end of this journey you will ask yourself this question,
"Which kingdom will I choose—will I build my own kingdom, or will I choose the kingdom of God?"
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