Poor In Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

This small verse has pride of place in the list of beatitudes because Jesus thought it was important enough to put it first. A coincidence? I don’t think so.

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase, “poor in spirit”? A few thoughts pop into my head, and maybe they match some of your own. I think of the folks who live and think simply and uncluttered by life’s troubles. I think of some who are diseased or afflicted of mind, and don’t think straight. They maybe couldn’t hold down a regular job. What about those who feel down and depressed? These folks don’t get a lot of sympathy in today’s world because they make a point of keeping their feelings hidden. In fact none of these fit nicely into our acceptable mould, yes even our pristine clean church leaders and members don’t know what to do with them.

Here’s the good news, and it’s worth remembering when you think of your family and friends who are not blessed with a clear, sound mind now. Perhaps they once did, and were the life of any get together, but now find it impossible to hold a conversation, and in extreme cases, may even need help in their everyday routines. Jesus has a word for your friends.

Jesus calls them “Blessed”. That’s the same word used when the angel visited Mary to tell her she would carry and bear the Saviour of the world. “Blessed”. Let it sink in. Then as if that wasn’t enough, Jesus gives the best announcement for these blessed “poor in spirit” folks. He tells them, and everyone else like them, that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Jesus confers two of the greatest honours on these people of simple thought and mind. They are blessed, and have a promise of heaven. Brother and sister, it doesn’t get any better than this does it? And straight from the lips of the Saviour. Amen and Amen!!