Blessed are the Meek

Matthew 5:5

What does it mean to be meek?  It is nothing more than a gentle spirit.  The meek would rather suffer injury than inflict it upon others.  Not out of weakness but humility.  They are aware of their own spiritual poverty an sinfulness.  They realize God has shown them mercy and they desire to do the same for others.  In the Old Testament, Moses is the great example of meekness.  He was not weak or timid (Ex. 32:19-20). Yet, when personally attacked, Moses displayed great humility (Num. 12:1-3).

In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus said the meek shall inherit the earth.  This is a promise that is fulfilled both in the present world and in the world to come.  The immediate fulfillment of this promise is in the here and now for those who first seek the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33; Mk. 10:29-30).  those who are truly children of God and seek after his will have no need to be anxious for the necessities of life because God looks after them.  Though God's faithful may have less than some who are wicked, He enables them to enjoy it more (Ecc. 5:19).

Coffman said in his commentary on Nark, "This is true not merely of individuals, but of nations and states as well.  It can be no accident that those areas of the world which are most characterized by attention to an d observance of the teachings of Christ are also those areas most civilized, having the highest standards of living and the greatest abundance of 'all things'".

The better fulfillment of this promise is in the world to come.  While we are comforted by God's care in the here and now, our true blessings are yet to come in the "new earth" (2Pet. 3:10).  The present world is a mixture of joy and sorrow, love and hate, beauty an ugliness, blessings and curses.  But God has promised his children a world full of joy, love, beauty and eternal blessings.  this is our true inheritance.

Thomas Sneed

Pond Church of Christ