Remember a few posts back where Jesus was calling us to repent? He didn’t leave that open to interpretation. He was proclaiming the kingdom of the heavens (where the gods live), and he started explaining what to expect now that the ways of the heavens are appearing on Earth. And the Greek word for “repent” means to change your mind, your way of thinking about things, and your way of doing things. This is a whole paradigm shift with real world implications.
In the last post, he started the Joyful Attitudes (beatitudes) putting the hearts of utterly beaten down people on The Way on Earth. Now, he explains the mind shift involved.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:4-5
Happy are those who grieve because, in the way of the heavens, they’ll be restored to a sense of well-being. Their grief will ease. Their mood will improve.
Why? Because when they understand and practice the way of the heavens, it makes sense of all the suffering. It may not eliminate discomfort, but they know why there is suffering.
And not only that! Because you know the why, you’ll learn how to handle suffering, how to overcome it, and how to turn it around into joy. That will give you hope, strengthen your resolve, and console you in distress. There is a way forward. There are better times ahead.
Also, happy are the meek. They are patient and humble, so, they will be living on and working the land. Nothing so grandiose as inheriting the planet. Literally, the Greek says, the meek will be “tenanting the land.” The meek won’t own the land. They will work the land and receive the benefit of the value they produce, enough so that not only they prosper, but the landowners will receive a share as well. The meek are in control of their own fate.
Notice, the landowners don’t pay the meek. Landowners take a chance on the meek. The meek pay the landowners a portion of the value they produce, expressing gratitude for the use of the land. Today, we find investors to support our profit-making venture. Check out this mutually beneficial relationship in Luke 19:11-27.
So, Jesus teaches us hope even when we’re grieving, and he teaches us to take the initiative, even though we’re poor. From the very bottom, look up and envision better. From nothing, we actually have something, but it has no value until we act on what little we already have and produce more. You’ll see, this is a continuing theme in Jesus’ way of the heavens.
The “kingdom of heaven” really is in us.