To recap, the last two parts of the Beatitudes spoke of the realization of our need for a Savior because we have absolutely nothing to offer before God to appease His rightful wrath. This is due to our sins that separated us from God as in His nature He cannot co-exist with sin. While the first command by Jesus, “Bless are the poor in spirit” spoke of our deepest need for a Savior and in turn humility, the second command, “Blessed are they that mourn” is in nutshell, a response to our utter hopelessness outside of Christ. One may also say that it is to mourn over sinful nature of ourselves as well as others that causes us to mourn. It is to survey his/her own heart and say, “Woe is me! What a wretched man I am!” as to get a deeper and more realistic realization of how sinful our hearts are before God.
Now we turn to the third command by Christ, the meekness. So what is meekness? Before exploring that, we should discover what meekness isn’t. It is not prideful or related to a natural quality of mankind. In other words, it’s innate or something that is inherent to natural man. Nor does it mean being nice as I prone to think. It does not also mean “weakness in personality or character.” MLJ says that it doesn’t mean “a spirit of compromise or ‘peace at any price.’ We know this to be true as nowhere in the Bible says, “Blessed are the ones who are peacekeepers.”
Sonship (http://www.whm.org/grow/sonship) speaks briefly about this topic. One topic was about being peacekeeper vs. peacemakers. I confess that prior to that lesson, I couldn’t make a clear distinction between peacemaker and peacekeeper. I just thought as long as there is ‘peace,’ everything must be fine and God is happy with it. The dangerous part of that thought process is the driving force behind peacekeeping. Why? Because often times, I would try to be the mediator or be passive for the sake of avoiding potential conflicts due to fear of men. But sometimes more than that, defending my reputation which I considered more important than the love of Christ or the opportunity of repentance and faith in Christ. Yet this is still and will always be a daily battle for me on earth. Nevertheless, the hearts of peacekeepers are unbelief and often self-righteousness as they rarely see the magnitude of their own sins and yet so quickly see other’s flaws:
(Luke 6:42)
How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
But what’s more saddening about peacekeepers is that it often results in alienation to others and God, because of the overwhelming desire to self-protect their reputation. So how are peacemakers different? That is to be explored later but in a nutshell, it is to humbly and willingly to be trustful and honest and “to boldly pursue others for their reconciliation with God and ourselves.” So it is also the desire for sanctification of self and others. The goal for them is ultimately God’s glory and other person’s good. So again, it’s self-centeredness vs. God-centeredness.
Now going back to what IS meekness, MLJ says it is “essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others.” So it requires two main things:
1) My attitude towards myself
2) Expression of that in my relationship to others.
So how does my attitude towards self-look like? We already spoke of “Being poor in spirit.” Thus, a “man can never be meek unless he is poor in spirit. A man can never be meek unless he has seen himself as a vile sinner.” MLJ urges that there must be ABSENCE of pride since it would be contradictory to have pride and to be meek. It also means, “he does not assert himself” like being nice or friendly or warm that may be related to one’s personality rather than from the Spirit. For example, one can be more prone to be nicer than others in subjective sense but this does not determine meekness. Lastly, MLJ states that truly meek also means “we no longer protect ourselves (from what others think of us), because we see there is nothing worth defending.”
Wow. We need to pulse here. Can you really say that about yourself? Can you honestly confess that you really are not that important or worth defending? From Biblical sense it’s pretty clear isn’t it?
“When a man truly sees himself, he knows nobody can say anything about him that is too bad…The man who is truly meek is the one who is amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.”
So if one understands that there is nothing inherently valuable of himself, then inevitably his heart will be teachable and readily available to learn from a higher being, namely our God Jesus Christ. MLJ references the ideal model who is ultimately and always Christ. He does in reference to 1st Peter chapter 2. It is to follow God’s step even when we are unjustly accused or wronged. More specifically see verses 18-25.
Once we are able to see that we are completely nothing on our own but are saved by God’s grace alone, then we are able to take heed to other people’s corrections, rebuke, or encouragements rather than being offended and playing defensive tackle. That is the gist of the expression of the relationships in a Gospel centered community that understands grace and expresses itself in love because it is readily available to serve and encourage each other and learn, and considers others better themselves. Thus, HUMILTY and MEEKNESS!
Lastly, the “meek already inherit the earth in this life…A man who is truly meek is a man who is always satisfied, he is a man who is already CONTENT.”
Because if a person has the best thing in the whole world why would he be discontent? Yet this is a daily battle and not a one-time event. The Spirit of God and never produced by a natural man, also solely drives it. Even a monk cannot make himself truly meek that satisfies God unless the Gospel, namely the Triune God, transforms him.
Someone once said, “we are far worse than we really think” when surveying our hearts. This is not to condemn ourselves but rather to strive for “poor in spirit.”
So I leave you with some application questions:
1) How do you view yourself before man?
2) How do you view yourself before God and His infinite holiness?
3) Are there things in your life that hinders you from being truly meek? If so, how are they dealt with? Do you preach the Gospel to yourself daily?
4) Is your goal in life ultimately serving yourself with keeping-up with your reputation or yearning for God’s glory for your lasting joy?
5) How do you receive criticisms from others? Do you fear other’s rejection of you if you would share your deepest struggles or sins?
6) Are you content and fully satisfied with God? If not, why not? If so, do you pray and reflect on the wrath and justice of God laid on Cross of Christ?
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