Daily Devotional for Friday, February 19, 2010 Have you missed any of our devotionals? Remember they can be found in the Archive section of our Website
http://www.gospelines.com "Third Place" "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5 A teenager was liked by everyone in school, his teachers and friends thought he was a popular but humble young man. When one of his classmates visited him in his home he saw a peculiar sign on the wall of his friend's room: "Third Place." This was the explanation. "I placed it there as a reminder to me, 'God first, others second, me third.' And I try to live by that every day of my life." That is the meaning of meekness. Some may confuse this beatitude with a call for weakness, but it is not. And it was no accident that this verse falls third in the list, because without first acknowledging our dependence upon Jesus (v. 3), and showing our disgust with both personal and national sin (v. 4), there would be no emphasis upon humility (v. 5). "God first, others second, me last." So, is this powerful verse speaking ONLY about personal humility, or does it also say something about the lost humility of a nation which has fallen away from their Christian roots? In the USA, we would well consider the deep convictions of our forefathers as they struggled to find the right footing for a godly nation: It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's humble acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence. --John Adams The balance between patriotism and pride teeters on the fulcrum of spiritual humility. When things were right with the children of Israel, they marched as a proud army, afraid of no one; their courage carried them as a ferocious combatant against their foe. And their best days came when they humbled themselves before Jehovah, faithfully guarded the Ark of the Covenant, and waited patiently upon God's leadership. Moses' successor, Joshua, said to the people as they prepared to enter Canaan: "Do not let this Book of the Law (the Word of God) depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8) Their pride was all about Jehovah and the covenant they had with Him. As long as they maintained their faith in God, they were successful; when they became cocky, they fell. (God make our leaders more like Joshua!) Now we come to this: "For they shall inherit the earth." The deep mystery of these words keeps our spiritual journey humble because it, like many other passages in the Bible, may be properly interpreted in several ways. Some say that it relates to Canaan, a type of Heaven in the Old Testament, thus our reward for humility will be realized in Heaven. And others believe that the reward will be experienced here on earth, something more tangible. My humble understanding is that we shall inherit the earth in the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus returns to reign for a thousand years. To get lost in a debate over the end of the third beatitude would disgrace what Jesus is teaching us: "We will be rewarded for our Christ-like humility. period!" It is the perfect way to end the trilogy of verses: 1. I am not good enough to work my way into heaven (v. 3). 2. I am sick to my stomach over sin and need to find a way out of my predicament (v. 4). 3. My only escape is to put God first in everything (v. 5). I humble myself before Him! To "strut" your superior lifestyle is dangerous. Anything we have, whatever we are, is because God has provided the resources for it, not because we have earned it. Let us keep our faith, maintain our biblical roots, and give glory to God for it all. GospeLines Prayer: Father, I am not better than anyone else because I live in a blessed nation, no more than I am a Christian because I am Baptist by birth. May others see YOU when they see me, not just another arrogant, religious know-it-all; I am content being in third place. Amen and amen. O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] Twitter URL www.twitter.com/OAddisonGethers -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en.
