The Great Paradox

The Great Paradox

Matthew 5:5 (NIV) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The two men faced each other in the courtyard. One was a man of extraordinary pride, a powerful man that had worked his way to the top. His influence was felt throughout the entire country of Israel. He held the power of life and death and as a son of Rome he was heir to the earth. The other man was the picture of weakness, a poor Jew caught in the grip of history, the crowd calling for his death and the Jewish leadership condemning him. There was nothing he could do to stem the tide sweeping against him. To the world the hero of this story could not possibly this lowly carpenter’s son. The two men stood on opposite ends of a great paradox. Jesus, the prisoner, was free. He was in absolute control and would not only inherit the earth but the entire universe. On the other hand Pilate was a prisoner of his own pride and couldn’t even control the outcome of the tragedy playing out before him. His soul and his inheritance would be lost.

The world doesn’t picture those who are meek as conquerors or winners. Yet, Jesus tells us that on the ladder God has placed before us the third step is meekness. To say that God’s ways are not this world’s ways seems too obvious. First He tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. Then he tells us that God’s comfort is for those that mourn (speaking of sin). When Jesus said the first shall be last and the last shall be first He really meant it. In this world leaders are expected to show bravado and command of the situation. In The Kingdom of Heaven the meek receive the prize.

To some it seems that God’s ways are upside down but from God’s perspective the lies of Satan have brought chaos on His creation. What we see as upside down is really right side up. Living in this present world we walk in the dark as if it were light and stumbling in the dark is accepted practice. But God desires to show us a better way. We cannot win, we cannot inherit, we cannot receive God’s best using the methods of this fallen world but there is a way. It is way that foolish, prideful men will never find for only the meek will inherit the earth.