Matthew 5: 5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The phone call did not go well. Hurt and anger spewed from both ends of the phone as I talked with my youngest daughter. In our minds, each of us knew better than the other what was right and hung up with the matter unresolved. The hurt and anger continued to well up and fester over the course of the days that followed. Attempts at reconciliation failed even after each of us wrote our positions down on paper and sent them in the mail. About a month later the Lord spoke to my heart of something I knew but of which I needed reminding: my daughter was more important than winning the battle and I needed to exhibit meekness by laying down my rights in submission to Christ.
Up to this point in the Gospel of Matthew, we’ve already learned a lot about the Disciples. This ragtag, motley group of men had a rather high opinion of themselves. They were expecting to take on the world, or at least their part of the world—the Romans. They were not about to show any weakness or humility. The very definition of “meek” is gentleness. So how were they supposed to set up their vision of a new Kingdom with gentleness? Again, Jesus is calling them to something different. Just a moment earlier, He had spoken to them of spiritual poverty and mourning over sin. He now says they “will inherit the earth” by being gentle, humble, sensitive, and patient! Minds blown.
Jesus knew He would not be around to teach the Disciples for very long. He had just three years to pass along the principles of Kingdom living. In the beginning, I would bet they had no idea they would be drinking from the proverbial garden hose! Learning what it meant to be meek—which was for some reason near the top of Jesus’ list of Beatitudes—was intended to help them gain control over their pride. Colin Smith says, “Meekness is the means by which God tames the sinful soul by taming the temper, subduing the assertive self, calming the passions, managing the impulses of the heart, and bringing order out of chaos in the soul.” Indeed, some of them had anger issues, others used harsh words and still others were discontent with the difficulties they were facing. For the Disciples, the call to meekness was a call to submission, to lay down their rights, allowing Jesus to be in control.
We learn more about meekness from John Piper, “Meekness is the power to absorb adversity and criticism without lashing back.” Jesus Himself would soon perfectly exemplify meekness by being a humble servant, willingly laying down His rights, not even opening His mouth to defend Himself when brought before Pontius Pilate. That is the picture of the power of meekness within Jesus. Soon enough, the Disciples would be calling upon that same power.
My relationship with my daughter improved greatly over a period of time, even though we agreed to disagree. The important turning point for me, however, was coming to the point of laying down my rights in the situation: my right to be heard, my right to be understood, and my right to be right. Christ ultimately controls all of it and, as we submit to His sovereignty, it results in meekness, leading to Christ’s blessedness.
Thank you, Father, for the reminder that You are the Blessed Controller of all things. Even when we feel we are right in a situation, we don’t have to win the battle. Whatever we are battling right now, we can be confident that You know it all, and we can trust You with the outcome. We pray this according to Your sovereign will. Amen.
~ painting, “Meekness” by Eustache Le Sueur, 1650
