What Does it Mean to be Poor in Spirit
What Does it Mean to be Poor in Spirit?
Everywhere we travel in the West, we tell people that Jesus does things upside down. We have learned this from sitting with the poorest of the poor and letting them teach us about the kingdom of God. Jesus loves to show Himself strong to the weak first, the most unlikely, the forgotten, and the most humble of all.
In Africa we have seen Jesus do this. For the poor draw us into a life of living even lower still, leading us on the low road – the only road forward – until we become as desperate for God as the poor are for daily bread. When we send our international visitors home from Mozambique, we always pray that they take home the riches of the poor because, as Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Many ask why Jesus reserves the kingdom of God for the poor in spirit. Why is it that the wealthiest people and cultures experience fewer miracles and less of the supernatural?
What does is mean to be poor in spirit? There is something about the poor that delights the heart of God. They are contrite. They know they are in need. But what is it about them that draws the kingdom of God to Earth? The answer to this lies in their dependency, hunger, need, and desperation.
True Dependence on God
I am finally beginning to understand God’s kingdom from the children and the poor. They teach us about dependence, humility, and being emptied of all else so that God can fill us. They simply have nothing else.
Interdependence: We Need Each Other
Why does God break forth in Mozambique in such power among the poor here in Mozambique? It’s because the poor rely on each other. They need each other. They live in a community of interdependence. They have to share with each other just to survive. Those who have much are often quick to accumulate and slow to give away. Yet those who have little are quick to share. They often give without remembering; they receive without forgetting. The poor are truly rich for the simplicity of their devotion.
Rich vs. Poor
Does poor in spirit mean financially poor? I believe Jesus meant that poor in spirit is a posturing of the heart where one is wholly given, fully yielded, completely desperate, and totally dependent on God alone. The Lord wants to cause even the rich and the middle class to be poor in spirit and know that they are in total need of Him.
A Call to All: Everyone is Invited
I believe being poor in spirit is a choice – a decision we all have to make to go lower still, fully dependent on the One who is always dependable.
Extracted from Heidi Baker and Shara Pradhan’s “Compelled by Love” at
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