What qualities do you desire in a leader? What character traits do we wish to develop in our children? For leaders, one study listed the following: assertiveness, strong drive, strength of ego, risk taking, innovation, a sense of urgency, and empathy as desirable traits. For children things like independence, discipline, leadership, persistence, work ethic, and creativity often show up as parental goals (and many others besides). How about yourself? What aspirations do you have for your own development? I have been thinking of this whilst observing the political conventions of our neighbours to the south over the past couple of weeks. The hype and energy devoted to our political systems (we are not that different in Canada) can seem very misplaced from my viewpoint, yet I still find it interesting what our society seems to treasure in its leaders, and what our leaders feel are the aspirations of the citizens from whom they wish to receive support. I am also old enough to recognize that many of the concerns and promises heard today are not much different than what we have always heard. Plus ça change, plus cest la même chose.
In contrast, I have continued my studies in Matthew’s Gospel, looking now at the famous Sermon on the Mount recorded in chapters 5 to 7, and read of what character traits Jesus desires to see in his kingdom. The sermon opens with some wisdom teaching from Jesus called the Beatitudes. These eight short statements paint a vivid picture of life in the Kingdom of God for a Christian. They are virtues central to the identity, worship, and mission of the Church and yet these virtues are, generally, conspicuously absent from our ‘top ten’ lists of qualities we desire for ourselves, our children, and even our leaders. They fall in two broad categories of virtues related to either spiritual need or missional action. As we will see this Sunday they are interconnected: one virtue leading to the next and so on. The primary virtue is found in verse 3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall receive the kingdom of heaven. Hands up all of you who have listed being “poor in spirit” as your one of your driving ambitions. We note that it is the poor of spirit that are blessed of God, and thus we are not speaking of economic poverty. What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”. We will unpack this more fully Sunday, but here are a couple of viewpoints:
“Idolatry is when you become the source of your own joy. Poverty of spirit is a wonderful thing.” – Paul Washer
“The blessed ones who possess the Kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are the ‘poor in spirit.’” – A.W. Tozer from The Pursuit of God
“A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble broken-hearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble broken-hearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behaviour.” – Jonathan Edwards from The Religious Affections
What does this new kingdom of heaven look like on the ground? Are there attitudes and actions distinctly Christian that ought to mark both our personal and corporate witness? If so, how in the world do we get there? These are some of the things I hope we have a better idea of after this coming Sunday. Hope to see you there!
Much love,
Pastor Gary
As we gather for Sunday worship, we want you to meet with God and be transformed by the Word. Prepare your heart by reading the passage and listening to the songs for Sunday.