Recently we've been hearing about and meditating on the beatitudes, in the Sermon on the mount that Jesus preached in Matthew 5:3-12. Out of everything Jesus could have started with to talk about, He started with this one: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (v3). We've learned that being 'poor in spirit' is like the 'master key' to the Christian life, and I believe Isaiah 66:2 is a very precious picture, referring to this very same person who is poor in spirit - "humble, and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at my word." I've found it helps me personally to meditate on truths of God's Word in terms of pictures and parables, and here is a story below that hopefully can help us to appreciate the character of someone who is 'poor in spirit' and aspire to have the same heart and attitude:
AN ILLUSTRATION
One day there was a lavish banquet for a King, where many high ranking people were feasting at a large table with him. And there was a servant who was serving food to the attendees, but by accident he spilled food and drink all over two men at the table. One of the men who got spilled on got angry, lashing out in complaint, but the other was completely calm, patient, and gracious.
Here is the back-story of the calm and gracious man who did not complain, and why he had a totally different attitude and mindset at that table:
This man was once convicted as a traitor to his country. He was condemned to death, and awaiting in prison for the day his punishment should come. But the King - out of nothing except his mercy, not only pardoned this traitor and released him from jail, but then he invited him to that dinner, into his home for the banquet. The guests, the whole town, and the traitor himself could not believe the King would do such a thing. It was a mystery. Only the King Himself knew why.
I believe we can get an immense amount of truth from this story. It blessed me to think about: how should that man sit at that dinner table? This traitor who has been shown mercy - if he is at a King's dinner table, the only thing he can do is put himself BELOW everyone else, including the servants there. He does not any longer carry the punishment for his past crimes, but he does carry the acknowledgement of them along with the gratitude of the King’s undeserved mercy. The only thing he can do is attend reverently with a quiet, undeserving gratitude. Now, if anything negative happens to him during that dinner, he is without complaint because he recognizes: "I do not deserve to be here anyways. How can I complain about anything?"
He (the forgiven/pardoned one) would be the one at the table who is totally calm when food was spilled on him, because he says, “I don’t deserve to be here, but I’m so thankful I am.” That attitude gave him mercy and patience. He had a humility, and a reverence. He had a "humble trembling" before the King.
This man at the feast won't be angry if others receive more food than him. He won't be angry if someone spills food on him, or says some negative comment about him. He should be in jail right now, but at the King's pardon he is free. And so inwardly, he is free too from all negativity. He also has a precious affection for that King, and even for others at the table, because it is a principle: the one who has been forgiven much loves much (Luke 7:47). We love because He first loved us (1 Jn 4:19).
God freeing us should mean that we “free” others (in our heart), and we LOVE easily, and freely. "Blessed are the pure in heart" - "pure in heart" is someone who is too full of gratitude and humility to carry a 'spec' of negativity toward anyone or anything else. In place of it is only: gratitude and humble reverence for the merciful King, and eagerness to show the same grace and love toward others. "Blessed are the pure in heart" is one of the beatitudes which Jesus spoke in Matthew 5. These should "be the attitudes" of everyone who has seen God's grace. And the beatitudes (and the whole Sermon on the mount) starts with these 6 words: "Blessed are the poor in spirit". "I don't deserve anything... I'm only a begging-receiver of goodness which I don't deserve".
HUMBLE TREMBLING
With a humble trembling – "I shouldn’t even be here, who am I that I should sit at this table?" We have to approach the Lord’s table with only two things: humility and gratitude; with our head down in gratitude and humility. "Lord, whatever happens, I’m free with a hope and I don’t deserve it, and I thank you."
Psalm 40:2 "He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD."
When we have this "humble trembling" before God everyday, this fear of God, many things change for us:
A CHANGE OF CHARACTER WHEN WE RECOGNIZE WHAT WE ARE AND WHERE WE'VE COME FROM
- We will be merciful to others and we won't get angry. Imagine if the Kings servant or child bumped into this forgiven traitor... he would definitely not get angry. He would be very gracious ("blessed are the merciful")
- Imagine if he was spoken rudely to - he would not be disturbed, because he does not consider himself to have rights "Blessed are the meek". What rights can a person claim who was supposed to be put to death?
- Imagine how different this traitor's past is than what his future will be. He has a eager desire to live rightly now, differently: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness"
- If the food was greatly overcooked, and the servants decided to give him the most overcooked piece of meat, he would still be thankful for it. It wouldn't even cause a silent murmur in his heart - He has zero complaint or negativity in his heart because all he can see and taste at that dinner is the King's mercy. Everything on that table no matter how overcooked or undercooked tastes precious to him - "Blessed are the pure in heart"
- If someone criticized him, he would not be upset. Because he knows he is actually much worse than what they are saying, he can never forget what he was, and he despises how he was: "Blessed are those who mourn" (mourn over their sins)
- If a servant asked him if he could help move some chairs around, he would have no problem, he would be happy to do it. Love always makes cheerful servants.
- There is a new joy, because there is a new hope compared to where he was headed.
Do you see how being 'undeserving and grateful', changes a person's whole attitude in everything ?! It changes how they carry themself, how they treat others, how they view others, how they view and respond to situations, it changes their hope, outlook on the future, their view of the past... it changes everything. This is what the gospel of God's mercy and love in Jesus does for us. God's love and mercy changes literally EVERYTHING.
And I believe it's why Jesus started the greatest sermon ever preached with this one statement: "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
EVERYTHING in the Christian life hinges on that one thing: My recognizing that I am nothing but an undeserving beggar that has to stand in a reverential, bowing, undeserving, humble fear of the Lord who chose to love a wretch, and a worm (Isaiah 41:14).
THE SELF-FOCUSED EXPECTATIONS OF THIS GENERATION
Now imagine this traitor came to that dinner with many expectations of what the King and others should still be doing for him, how terribly evil that would be. He becomes upset because this other guest got the bigger portion. The dessert was pie, but he wanted cake. They didn't let him sit where he wanted to. He's complaining about the servants being too slow. Then he questions the King for being unkind and thoughtless for allowing these things to happen, telling the King how he needs to handle things. What a tragedy for so many to live like this - even Christians.
2 Timothy 3:1-4 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God."
It is a sad thing for so many who say they believe in the Lord, they know they are sinners who deserve Hell, they know Jesus had to die for them, they know this life is temporary, they know they have to stand before God at the judgment one day and look back over their life, they know God is all powerful and (in their mind) they know He is all loving, but still to sit at the Lord's table as if we deserve something and as if our own comfort at this 'one dinner' was all that mattered.
And this is the importance of humility, and gratitude for plain and simple forgiveness of our sins - and the cross, where Jesus died for us undeserving sinners. To keep that with us will preserve these right attitudes in us.
2 Peter 1:9 "For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins."
That’s all we Christians are; takers, and receivers. How can we make demands? And what can we give God that He doesn’t already have? We can only bow in humble reverence, recognizing that He is everything, and we deserve nothing; as we often say in our church - we are zeroes.
LIVING "IN VIEW OF GOD'S MERCIES"
The Bible uses a phrase, "In view of God‘s mercies" (Rom 12:1) – that means I remember there’s a reason for that mercy, and I have an obligation now to live in light of all that mercy (the verse goes on to tell us how to live: "In view of God's mercies... present your body a living sacrifice for God"). I don’t condemn myself over my past sin, and at the same time, I should have a reverence and a humble trembling, knowing that I’m sitting at a table that I don’t deserve to be at, and from there I have a sight set on pleasing the One who loved me; because I don't belong to myself anymore - He bought me. Salvation is free to me... but it was not free. What a price He paid (1 Corinthians 6:20).
May the Lord help us to walk in an immense fear and reverence and gratitude for the One who showed us such mercy.
“But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." Isaiah 66:2