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.

Knowing

Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV) - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

      Christ came to reveal the Father to us. He said that if we saw Him we saw the Father and no man can come to the Father but by Him. Paul tells the Romans, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God”. Faith is a gift that God has given us. But that gift comes from the revelation of who God is. The more we know Him the greater our faith grows. In our Scripture this week Christ unpacks faith building knowledge. “I will give you rest.” “I am meek and lowly in heart.” “My yoke is easy, my burden is light.” Stop for a minute and consider the revelation that Jesus is speaking into our lives. When I come to Jesus there is rest. There is a place of peace where I am safe from the storm. I will not accept a word that contradicts this truth. Christ beckons us to Him and says “I am meek and lowly”. The word “meek” means gentle. The Spirit of the Lord is gentle. I love the time that I spend in His presence. When I humble myself before Him and in that moment of brokenness He wraps His arms around me and I know that I am loved. I know that He loves me and nothing the world says can change that truth. Faith is knowing! And knowing affects my daily walk. When I hear God’s word and receive God’s word into my heart my steps are ordered by the Lord and I begin to walk in His promises. That is the culmination of faith. Faith isn’t hoping it is the substance of those things you hoped for. Faith isn’t things not seen it is the evidence of those things.
     Today the Holy Spirit wants to unleash a powerful faith in your life. Not something you work up in an ecstatic state but something that grabs hold of you from the Word of God. A revelation of who God is that will never change. No circumstance, no enemy, no trial will ever change the truth that God wants to birth in your heart by His Word. Receive it today.