Send to Kindle
by Precarious Yates
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
I hope you don’t mind if I camp out in the Sermon on the Mount for a while. Jesus’ words hold so much power, weight, and wisdom. I want to spend my whole life meditating on these and living them out. Want to join me?
Jesus, when He instructed the crowds, told them that God blesses the meek. Later in Matthew (11:29) He tells the crowds that He is meek and lowly and that we are to learn from Him. I really want to unpack what this is all about because it seems quite central to who He is and how He wants us to live.
Just before Jesus went to Jerusalem to die on the cross, He had this interesting encounter with the mother of James and John, the disciples He nicknamed “Sons of Thunder.” This encounter took place in front of all his disciples. As you read through it, note how Jesus is shifting their paradigm in regards to how the Kingdom works versus how the world works:
“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.””
Matthew 20:20-28 NKJV
Immediately following this encounter, Jesus heals two men of blindness. It’s as if the Holy Spirit wants us to be healed of the wrong ways in which we have seen the world, seen power, and seen our place in the Kingdom. He calls us to be like Him: not to be served, but to serve and to lay down our lives for others.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
John 15:13 NKJV
It is in this way that we will inherit the earth. God does not want the stewards of the earth to be constantly battling one another for power. Jesus drew this beatitude from a beautiful portion of Psalm 37 which really illustrates the point:
“For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
Psalms 37:10-11 NKJV
The Lord wants us to enjoy an abundance of peace in His Kingdom. He will not only bring peace to us, He will bring it through us as we walk the way He did.
May God bless you and empower you to be a blessing to others today!
About the Author:
Sarah Jo Smith is a pastor in eastern Ohio, where she lives with her husband, two children, and numerous chickens and sheep. She is working establish a ministry and to plant a church. As an author, she writes for children and teens under the pen name Precarious Yates. Currently, Sarah Jo is pursuing a degree in Peace & Conflict Studies/Conflict Resolution at UNC Greensboro. In addition, she holds a first black belt rank in Taekwondo and is working toward her second degree black belt in Hapkido. Pastor Sarah Jo’s passions are to help people be vessels for God’s love and presence, to bring the ministry of reconciliation through the gospel of Jesus Christ where there have been divisions and dividing walls between people, and to fight against human trafficking wherever she lives (see books written under Precarious Yates for more information).
