Advent Devotional - December 16

December 16 Meek

“Where meek souls will receive Him”

Pray

Father God, I want to be found living in the center of Your will. Take away my love of sinning. Purge me of my arrogance and pride. Teach me to kneel. Amen.

Read – Matthew 5:5

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”.

Reflect

We have the idea that being meek means being a doormat. We hear Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount and we are afraid of what would become of us if we took those words seriously. Must we be limp-wristed, milquetoast Christians? Do we have to be meek? It’s all very well to talk that way in church, but in the harsh realities of our world, the meek do not inherit the earth.

The problem is that we misunderstand what the Bible means by “meek.” Jesus does not imply that we should be weak, easily pushed around by every bully. Instead, He teaches us to subject our wills to the will of God. To be meek is to reject the aggressive self-confidence that leads, so often, to violence. To be meek is to accept the wisdom and the peace that are to be found in letting Christ rule in our hearts.

So many of our problems are caused by the “I” that dominates us, which lies at the center of our sin. Our pride leads us to make choices that take us out of God’s will. Instead of developing spiritual fruit we descend into carnality. Increasingly, our world revolves around our needs and our choices. We may accept the blessings God provides, but we have no intention of blessing others. It’s all about us!

Contrast that attitude with the humility of Jesus, who laid aside His majesty to seek and to save the lost. His meekness was not weakness. His strength was to do the Father’s will. When we are meek, we lay aside the arrogance of the world and take up the humility and obedience of Jesus.