preview

MAY 15
POOR IN SPIRIT
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3)
Like all of humanity, I am, by nature, “poor in (my own) spirit.” That
is to say, I am utterly insufficient in the spiritual sense; I am incapable
of helping myself, of nurturing myself, of growing and developing in
Him, without the grace of the Holy Spirit. I can’t “pull myself up by my
bootstraps” and save myself.
However, I don’t always acknowledge this, particularly when I go about
my life in self-reliance and imagined self-sufficiency. And thus it is with
various teachings and religions that glorify the “Self” as the ultimate
solution to human insufficiency; as if we need only look deep inside
ourselves to find strength, hope, and “spirituality.” This is the opposite of
being “poor in spirit.”
Today I begin my day in humble acknowledgement of my insufficiency in
my own “spirit.” Let me ask for, and rely on, the grace of the Holy Spirit,
in all my duties and relationships. Because the Lord promises those who
walk in reliance on Him “blessedness,” and “the kingdom of heaven,”
already in the here and now. It is the kingdom where He is King, and not
me. Glory be to Him.
140