Like all the beatitudes, Jesus’ statement, “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth” (Mt. 5:5), presents an interesting paradox echoing David’s words in Psalm 37:12. The ancient world understood all too well attempts to gain control of the earth. Between David and Jesus, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and Romans all had taken steps toward world conquest, and all had ambitious political leaders leading the charge. But this contrast highlights the contrast Jesus intended. These worldly leaders failed because their ambition focused on themselves and their view of conquest centered on political boundaries. Jesus charges us to abandon such selfish ambition in order to embrace meekness instead.
Meekness requires us to give of ourselves instead of attempting to take something from others. Instead of having selfish ambition, the meek take hold of God’s cause and makes it their ambition as Jesus also demonstrated: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Mt. 11:28-30). What Jesus did, Jesus never made about Himself; it was always about His Father and about others. This formed the foundation for how He treated people (Mt. 22:37-40) and how He saw Himself. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). Jesus left personal ambition behind and took up the ambition to live for God—even from heaven (Phil. 2:5-8).
Therefore, those who become Jesus’ disciples must sacrifice their will to pursue God’s will. The apostle Paul writes of “those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness” (Rom. 2:8). They remain lost and do not follow Christ because they have a personal ambition that they refuse to let go. To enjoy what Jesus offers, you must first realize what Jeremiah did centuries ago, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23). So, in order to gain everything that God has to offer, we must first give all that we are to God so that we might become what He wants us to be. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2). Thus, to enjoy all that following Jesus offers, we must sacrifice our selfish ambitions and develop an ambition for God.
-Kevin W. Rhodes
0 Comments