Don’t the Meek end up on Crosses?
Matthew 5: 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Definition
Humble and gentle are two words that are usually used to define the word meek. Humble means not to be proud or arrogant. So a meek person is not proud, self-assertive, or abusive in any way. The Lord says that these are the people who will inherit the earth. This does not say that warriors and those who “fight” for the truth will inherit the earth. But it will be the MEEK.
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven
Many people are living their lives under the “thou shalt nots” of the Ten Commandments. I believe that didn’t work for the Israelites and that it doesn’t work for Christians. Law only breeds more law and it doesn’t deal with the change in heart necessary to live a devoted life for the Lord. Christians should be living their lives under the positive goals of the Sermon on the Mount. I believe the Sermon on the Mount is the constitution for the millennial kingdom and is the constitution for the heavenly kingdom that we enter when we are born again.
Grace and Works
We know that we are saved by grace through faith in the Lord and we are not saved by works of righteousness. If we were saved by works of righteousness we would be boasting about our own worthiness (see Ephesians 2:8-10). However, we also know that when we are “born again” that leads to a “new life”. That new life should be characterized by meekness among other things. The Lord was meek Matthew 21:5 describes the Lord as meek when He is making His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He was not forcing Himself on the nation. He didn’t come with an army. He didn’t come with a lot of media people telling the world about how good He was and how bad his opponents were. He was available, He was righteous, but He was meek. Look where it got Him. He ended up on a cross!
Are we really Born Again?
Recently I was at the funeral of a lady who had died at a ripe old age. She had a love for the Gospel and talked to everyone she met about the Lord. We were told at the funeral that she used the old fashioned words that used to a part of the preaching of the Gospel. She used works like “sin” and “saved” and “lost” and “born again” and “eternity.” This is the way the Bible speaks, and it is the way the Lord speaks and Paul speaks; but it is not the way many of us speak today. And these words are not old fashioned, they are Biblical. But I fear that sitting in our pews today are many people who are being taught how to live like a Christian without being taught how to become a Christian. Today we use words that may be Biblical if properly understood, but we do not always hear the need for a person to “come to an end of themselves” like the prodigal son in Luke 15 did. It is so necessary to quit trusting in self in order to trust in the Lord. We talk about making decisions and following the Lord but we don’t hear about the humbling of the person in the presence of a holy God before trusting in the Lord. The Lord never saved an unwilling sinner so, yes, a decision is involved; but the decision is not what we depend on. We depend on the Lord and His promises. Yes, a Christian is a follower of the Lord, but many followed the Lord who never believed in Him when He was here on the earth. They may have eaten of the loaves that He miraculously provided, but they never ate of the true manna which was the Lord Himself. Could people who call themselves Christians but who seem to lack meekness be believers in a superficial Gospel that does not produce conviction and conversion? Have many of the people who have heard the old fashioned Gospel learned the words without actually coming to know the Lord? And yes meekness is often in short supply today.
When we are born again, we should want to please the Lord and be like Him. We will esteem other better than ourselves. We will allow ourselves to be humbled and we will let God do the exalting. Philippians 2:1-11 tells us about the kind of mind that we ought to have if we are truly “born again.” It is the mind of one who is truly meek.
Conclusion
The principles of God’s kingdom which we enter into when we are born again, are completely contrary to the principles of this world We are to be meek and not proud and self-assertive. If you are like me and feel that you have some adjustments to make in this area, just thank the Lord that you even have a desire to be Christ-like with regard to meekness. Most of us didn’t even have the desire to be meek before we were saved and at least most of us who are saved have that desire now.
Blessed are the meek!
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of May 18, 2014