GodSprings - 02, March, 2017

Am I Using Power For My Benefit?

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

Bryan Wilkerson, in his sermon “In God We Trust” shares this incident. “Taylor University is a Christian college in Indiana. Years ago, they were pleased to learn that an African student, Sam, was going to be enrolling in their school. This was before it was commonplace for international students to come to the U.S. to study. He was a bright young man with great promise, and the school felt honored to have him. When he arrived on campus, the President of the University took him on a tour, showing him all the dorms. When the tour was over, the President asked Sam where he would like to live. The young man replied, "If there is a room that no one wants, give that room to me." The President turned away in tears. Over the years he had welcomed thousands of Christian men and women to the campus, and none had ever made such a request.”

"If there is a room that no one wants, give that room to me." That's the kind of meekness Jesus talks about in the Beatitudes.

This statement by Jesus is similar to the first two that he preached when he began the Sermon on the Mount. This statement was too a shock to the Jewish audience. It was a shock to all the communities prevalent at that time. Why was it a shock? It was a shock because God’s plan was not anything like they thought.

Jesus disappointed the Zealots as he was not able to build a revolutionary force. He disappointed the Pharisees, because seeing the life of Jesus and the miracles He performed they were sure he had the power to destroy Rome but He wouldn’t do it.

Their disappointed started when they heard Jesus speak, “Blessed are the meek”. They were wanting to hear a revolutionary message where Jesus would say, “Blessed are the powerful”.

Jesus says it is not the self sufficient, the self righteous or the proud or the strong but rather it is the broken, mourning, meek, hungry, thirsty, merciful, pure, peacemakers, persecuted who will make up his kingdom. (Mat 5.3-12)

When Jesus said you have to be weak was he intending on us being weak? I don’t think so. It is power under control. It is a person who has yielded up control to someone else. When we have a broken heart and are spiritually bankrupt and are mourning over our sinfulness we have submission. And Jesus says this submission to God is meekness.

Abraham shows us what it is to be guided by the Lord even when he has the authority to decide. When Abraham began his journey with his nephew Lot from Ur, they reached Negeb and there was a fight between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot’s livestock.

Abraham had the right to the land. But we see that Abraham handled it in a rightful manner. Gen 13:8 we see that he calls Lot and says, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen for we’re brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me, if to the left, I’ll go to the right, or if to the right then I’ll go to the left.” This is what it means to have power under control. Abraham had power and authority but he yielded it up. He did not use it for his own benefit.

This lent can we decide to be meek? Can we decide to have our power under control? can we decided to not use our power for our own benefit?