If you’re anything like me you’ve probably read the Beatitudes many times. Personally, I’m drawn to them. But I believe Christians often miss the message Jesus intended. Because it’s rare to hear the Church speak of these. It’s as if the Lord Jesus spoke them in such a way that one could easily overlook the importance of their message and instead be blinded by the poetic use of the words. But once those words truly sink in, you realize the importance of what the Lord is really saying. For instance, the first beatitude reads;

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

The word poor usually means someone who lacks, lacking, or is destitute. Which I could then read as someone who isn’t arrogant or prideful, but, is humble and feels unworthy.  This description actually reminds of the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, which reads;

Luke 18:10,14 – “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbled himself will be exalted.”

See what I mean?

The tax collector wasn’t only  humble, but, he felt so unworthy that he couldn’t bring himself to look up to Heaven. He knew he was a sinner, admitted it to God and asked for mercy.

But there’s more. You see, the Lord Jesus tells us that those who aren’t arrogant, who aren’t righteous in their own eyes, who humble themselves before God, who admit they’re a sinner, have a final destination. And that destination is;

The Kingdom of God.