Depend on Him
I love these first two passages in the Sermon on the Mount. I especially like comparing & combining the NIV and Message versions. It really enriches the meaning for me.
V 3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule."
V 4: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
In this morning's reading I also read in Miles Stanford's "The Complete Green Letters":
"Faith is dependence upon God. And this God-dependence only begins when self-dependence ends. And self-dependence only comes to its end, with some of us, when sorrow, suffering, affliction, broken plans and hopes bring us to that place of self-helplessness and defeat. And only then do we find that we have learned the lesson of faith. . . The Lord allows many things to happen on purpose to make us feel our need of Him. The more you find Him in your sorrows or wants, the more you will be attached to Him and drawn away from this place where the sorrows are, to Him in the place where He is."
It seems like these words of Stanford's capture the meaning of Matthew 5:3-4. I love when He echoes a sentiment to me multiple times, in multiple ways! Makes it so much easier to 'get' what He is trying to teach me!
May you be blessed, too, by these words.
Created 12 months ago
