"Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit"
By Z. I. Davis
Poverty in the usual sense of the term is not desired by any one. Even a godly man of old prayed, "Give me neither poverty nor riches." But there is a kind of poverty that our Lord commends. It is poverty of spirit. To such is promised the kingdom. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is within you." The poor in spirit are not necessarily paupers or even members of the poorer class. They may be wealthy, cultured, and educated, or they may be unlearned and unskilled. The Lord said, "Not many mighty, not many noble are called." Their condition of blessedness rests upon their attitude of mind and heart toward spiritual things. They must feel that there is nothing in themselves that can enrich their own life or that of others. If we are poor in spirit, we will look to Christ as the source of all our help and strength. His words are true, "Without Me ye can do nothing." We need to drink deep of the fountain of the water of life. A little chick bursts its shell. It has no way to feed itself. It is entirely dependent upon its mother. For twelve hours, or for a little longer period of time, it is nourished wholly by the heat and life in the mother hen. Later, when food is given, the mother hen first takes it in her bill, then scatters it down for the young chick, and coaxes it to eat. The chicken depends entirely upon outside help. If it refuses to eat, it dies. If it partakes of the food, then assimilates it, it lives and grows. So it is with the Christian. We grow by what we feed upon. We can not grow in Christ if we do not feed on Christ. He is the Bread of Life. "Harken diligently unto me," called the prophet; "eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." Z. I. DAVIS.
Milford, Mich.