Who Wants to be Poor and Meek?

Matthew 5:3,5,6 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

I never understood the opening verses of the sermon on the mount until I recognized how poor, meek and needy I truly was.  It was only in my utmost need that I understood Jesus to say, Blessed are those who see their need, for it it is only the needy who seek God.  It is only those who seek me that find me.

It was only in my hour of greatest need that I came to God with nothing left.  As it turns out, this is how I am to always approach him, with my hands empty, clinging to nothing of myself.  It is in my success and self-sufficiency that I come half-heartedly to God, wanting him a little, but not really desperate for him.

Then, when I try to tell others what he has sort-of done for me, it falls flat because I have never really needed him.  In my success, I never really knew him or what He could do for me.  Self-sufficiency and success are the opposite of what it takes to find God.

It is only in realizing my constant need for God that I constantly depend on and seek him.  Blessed am I when I see that my need is as great today as it was in my disaster. I need God as much now as I did two years ago and I need God as much as that man sitting in prison.  It is only in seeing my need that I seek God and it is only in seeking him that He reveals himself to me.

The difference between those who know God and those who do not, does not lie in how much one has or how much one needs.  The difference is in how much one recognizes his or her need.  We are all desperately poor, meek and needy before God. It is just that some see it and some are blinded by the artificial self-sufficiency of this world.  God draws near to those who seek him and only the desperate seek him desperately.

This is why Jesus said the poor, meek and hungry were blessed above all.  This is why He said they will inherit the kingdom of heaven. If I want God, I daily need to be honest about my poverty before him. I need to reject the lie of self-sufficiency.  I need God.  It is only in my need that I find him.