[note: this is the beginning of a series on Jesus’ teaching commonly called the “Beatitudes” (Mt 5:3-12 )]
When it comes to following Jesus, where do I begin? Do I pray a commitment prayer, get baptized, become a member of a church, or just change the religion category on my Facebook profile?
Jesus started the first sermon we encounter in the four Gospels with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 ESV)
Why poverty of spirit? It is the way to pass through en route to God’s kingdom and the “foundation of all other blessedness… the jewel of a Christian’s garb.”
But what is it? Is it gloominess, melancholy, or an air of angst? Poverty of spirit is not humility precisely but the cause and root of humility.
It is living “on the alms of God.” In this, I see myself as a beggar before God and nothing more. I complain of my broken spiritual condition, of my spiritual cravings. A beggar is vocal because he knows he is starving. “Longing is the umbilical cord of the higher life” (Søren Kierkegaard) And thus, it is seeking complete and regular nourishment in the words of God, like a tree planted by streams of water
It is having a true sense of my inability to do anything to kiss up to God or barter with him. It is a deep sense of utter dependancy, knowing that every breath I have is a gift of God and every good thing I do is an expression of God’s grace working in my life. It is knowing I can’t define God or save myself.
It’s being dissatisfied with my self and aware of self-destructive tendencies. It’s being willing to part from my self-defining tendencies, my self-driven desires, and my self-exalting vision of the future. It is being fully aware that all good that has happened, is happening, and will happen is a gift of God. It is being weaned from self .
It is not centering myself in what I have (my stuff), what I do (my resume), or whom I’m with (my group), but lets God’s perspective define me. “What a man is before God, that he is and nothing more.” (St. Francis of Assisi)
It is being aware how spiritually vulnerable we are and has a true sense of personal weakness and culpability in any situation. It is being teachable, learning from all sources of truth while at the same time being careful knowing how easily it is to be gullibly tossed around by the next fad of ideas. It is revering God so deeply that I tremble.
It is being willing to be used of God, aware that God’s plans are usually not my plans. It is a willingness to forgo current pleasure and satisfaction aware that there is a purpose higher than myself.
It has a deep sense of what spiritual wealth looks like and is willing to sacrifice everything for it.
It is many more things and this idea is saturated throughout Jesus’ teachings. It is the first command repent connected to Jesus message that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Thus, to follow Jesus, I start by acknowledging that my own path is sorely lacking and worth abandoning when I’m confronted with his better way, the way of life .
(with help from the writings of Thomas Watson, Frederick D. Bruner, John Calvin, Søren Kierkegaard, Jeremiah Burroughs, Brennan Manning, and a few others)
