Posted on June 15, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” – Romans 12:3 (NKJV)
In my previous Freedom Fighter, I was sharing with you some of the struggle I experience with the virtue of meekness. In the KJV you’ll see it listed as one of the Fruits of the Spirit (for anyone who reads a different translation). Today I would like to share with you how meekness presents itself through the Be-atitudes and how Jesus would link meekness with lowlines so that the forgiven sinner can understand why they must have a forgiving attitude. So, without any further-a-do let’s get into God’s Word shall we?
One of the first things we gotta understand is that Godly meekness will be impossibile to achieve if you are maintaining a high opinion of yourself. I know Jesus would say to maintain no opinion of yourself and He makes that idea pretty clear in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Now to be “poor in spirit” doesn’t mean you’re poor in spirituality, au contraire mon ami,
poorness of spirit involves humility, contentment, submission, and gratitude. Before you can even have these things added to your Christian character you must have gone before the God of the universe with a penitent heart, knowing that your pride destroys yourself and those around you, while maintaining humility as it serves and builds. I believe the word is repent.
“Blessed are they that mourn! For they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) Mourning happens when the heart is broken, but before you go off thinking that this may include the heart break you got from some teenage romance, I would to ask you to think again. The kinda mourning Jesus is addressing arises from a sense that you’ve offended God. Maybe God has got you in a season where He is testing you to see if you’re gonna go to Him as this season plays out. Maybe it’s the church you belong to, and I don’t mean you’re rattled over the carpet. Maybe you’re mourning because there’s an absence of any spiritual joys in your life? Hmm….
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:29
It’ll be here in Matthew 11:29 where Jesus will bring meekness and lowliness together. Actually, you’ll see that Jesus explains why we should embrace His way of life if you were to start reading this from Matthew 11:25-30. The wise and the clever automatically get the pass they ask for and it’ll be those of us with a childlike approach that’ll be who Jesus wants to come to Him exhausted and carrying those weighty burdens. So, the best way to achieve this level of meekness is to be yoked with Jesus, but don’t think it an enslavement. Jesus wants us to understand that He governs in meekness and that He wants His children to do likewise.
The apostle Paul will bring the natural association of lowliness and meekness together when address’s the Ephesian church (see Ephesians 4:1-3). First, he’ll tell them he is yoked (prisoner of the Lord) indicating they should do likewise, then do this in all meekness and gentleness. This will help them build and unify the church with all humility, patience (didn’t think that word come did ya?), restraint, and love. Basically, telling the Ephesian church in order to avoid divisiveness they need to maintain a forgiving spirit. Try doing that in a community that screams “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
In a world whose standards of right and wrong, or what is considered to be justice, has been literally flipped upside down. Meekness will be the curveball that will leave it standing on its head. It doesn’t understand that in humility you have a correct assessment of your merits and in meekness you have a correct assessment of your personal rights. You can try to throw the baby out with the bathwater all day long when it comes to meekness, humility, and gentleness, but ultimately, it’ll be those things that will lead you on a path of contentment… and contentment, along with joy, is great gain. Amen?
I got few things left to add to this topic of meekness and how it looks in action. So, until next time, I recommend finding those characters in Scripture who displayed meekness and see how God used them to further His kingdom.
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a child of El Elyon, a son, a husband, and a father. He has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy, 11/2003. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net.
Think About This:“The man who has no opinion of himself at all can never be hurt if others do not acknowledge him. Hence, be meek. He who is without expectation cannot fret if nothing comes to him. It is self-evident that these things are so. The lowly man and the meek man are really above all other men, above all other things.” — Henry Drummond
The Daily Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 12, 1 Kings 10-11. You can download our 2023 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” Hebrews 2:17-18
Consider a retreat at America’s Keswick retreat center.
