Jump Start # 153 

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” 

  The King James version translates this verse, “Blessed are the meek…”. The word “meek” brings images of having people run rough shod over you, taking advantage of you and being spineless and weak. We are told “it’s a dog eat dog” world and there doesn’t seem to be much room for meekness. But this is the nature of the citizen’s in God’s kingdom. They are meek, or gentle. Our concept of meekness is not the one we gather from the Bible.

  Gentleness or meekness is an attitude. In the beatitudes, meekness follows mourning and poverty in spirit. The word means to be “under control.” It is like a mighty horse that is under control, and not running wild and free.

  Jesus admitted that He was meek and lowly in heart. Other versions say, “gentle and humble in heart.” Arrogance, stuffiness, bigotry, refusing to be around certain people can not be said of Jesus. The lepers, the Samaritans, the tax collectors, the Pharisees, the officials of the synagogue all found company with Jesus. Our Lord never destroyed someone verbally. Even on the cross He “didn’t let them have it.” He was gentle. He was kind. Yet, He was the Lord. No one, including Satan, took anything away from Jesus that He was not willing to give. He never felt that people took advantage of Him or used Him. He was the Lord. All power was at His finger tips, but He was under control.

  That’s hard for us because we tend to “lose control.” When we feel like we have been ripped off, taken advantage of, or received bad service, we tend to give an ear full to the manager, make threats, raise our voice and get ugly. Those are not our better moments. Generally the thoughts of Jesus don’t cross our minds at those times. Out of control anger, words, feelings is not the nature of Christ’s citizen. Blessed are those who are gentle.

  Gentle when someone is correcting us. Gentle when the other person is not gentle. Gentle when we are correcting others. Gentle when dealing with wrong. Gentle when dealing with tough situations. Now this just isn’t easy to do. Our blood tends to boil, our voices get louder, we get red in the face, steam comes out of our ears, our hearts pound faster and faster and we get all worked up.

  Gentle doesn’t mean we let others have their way. Often their way is wrong or involves wrong. Gentle means being firm, standing on what you believe but without losing control. It is without throwing a fit. Thunder never kills anyone, it is the lightning that does. We could use a lot less thunder in our spirits.

  How do we become gentle? Easy. Follow Jesus. Learn from Jesus. That’s what He says in Mt. 11:28-30. You can’t really get there without first becoming poor in spirit, mourning for your condition and then learning from God. Sometimes it is good to just hush and listen. It’s hard to become when we are always justifying, excusing and defending self. The gentle will take the talking to. The gentle will change.

  No one feels good when they have destroyed someone verbally. We don’t feel good when it happens to us. The blessing is upon those who are gentle. Try it today. Try being gentle—at work…at home. It’s hard. You have pull back on the reigns a few times. But once you’ve done it a few times, you realize what a blessing it is.

  Roger

Jump Start # 152 

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

  We continue our look at the beatitudes—the opening pithy statements of our Lord’s sermon on the mount. Jesus is defining the heart of the citizen’s of the kingdom of God. Our beatitude today is one that is greatly misunderstood. Most think Jesus is talking about mourning over the loss of a loved one. This is read at funerals and at the cemetery. There is no virtue in death, especially if the dead did not walk with Jesus. The mere fact that someone died is not a reason to rejoice or to consider oneself “blessed.” The truth be known, while preachers misuse this passage at the funeral, those in the audience feel cursed rather than blessed.

  We immediately think of physical death when we see the word “mourn.” Death is not the only time or subject that brings mourning. Paul told the Corinthians that they should have “mourned” about one of their members who was living immorally.

  You will see that the beatitudes are connected and linked together. There is an order about them. Jesus didn’t just randomly throw these out, but rather, He knew that one leads to the other. The poverty of spirit leads to one mourning that condition. Jesus is describing the realization that one is lost before God. This comes about after one humbly recognizes that he is broke spiritually before God. That condition causes him to mourn—it leads to him seeking God.

  The gentiles were described by Paul as “excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). Excluded…strangers…no hope…without God. What a terrible condition. When that hits a person, when they realize they are “poor in spirit” they mourn.

  We see this in the life of the prodigal son. When he came to his senses, when he realized the friends were gone, the money was gone, and no one was going to help him, he became poor in spirit. He felt empty, lost and lonely. It was then that he got up and returned home.

  Jesus calls such a condition, “blessed.” Blessed because they will be comforted. They will come to God humbly and find forgiveness through obedience and faith. We must not take away the experience of “mourning” for our sins. Guilt and shame breaks us. It should. This is good. But when we tell others, “It’s ok. We all make mistakes. You’ll be fine,” we take away the need to mourn. We lessen the pain of sin and often the journey to God doesn’t take place. David was a broken man after he became poor in spirit. His sin with Bathsheba was covered up. God uncovered it. No excuses. No trying to hide it. David begged for God’s forgiveness. Read Ps 51. Those are the words of a man who is mourning his lost condition with God.

  I wonder if we get this. I sometimes here folks nearly bragging about the old days when they could drink anyone under the table, or the glory days of one night stands, or the grand schemes of cheating on tests and doing wrong. Is there no shame? Is there no mourning what those things did to you and God?

  Paul summed up these first two beatitudes when he wrote, “for the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation…” WITHOUT REGRET. No regrets in leaving the broken world of sin. No regrets in clinging to the hand of God. No regrets. The mourning, the shame, the guilt, the poverty of spirit is no place they want to return to. Blessed is such a man!

Roger