by Ray Ortlund
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Matthew 5:3

Here we are again. I don’t think we can ponder this blessing too much. Sadly, not all churches are in this blessed state of impoverishment. Jesus said to His church in Laodicea, “You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). I mean, think about that. You’re walking down the street, and here comes a guy. You see him down about half a block away. Whoa. He is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked—and kind of banged up because he’s walked into telephone poles and mailboxes and stuff. And you walk up to him and you say, “Sir, may I help you?” And he says, “I am rich. I have prospered. I need nothing.” He’s crazy.
And when that spirit enters into a church, it stifles the creation of a gospel culture. All the Laodicean church could think about was its strengths. What it needed was honesty about its weaknesses, because it is weakness—and guilty weakness—brought to Jesus that brings the blessings down.
During the first Great Awakening, George Whitefield, the Anglican evangelist said:
If you want to have peace with God you must be troubled for the sins of your best duties and performances. You must be brought to see that God may damn you for the best prayer you ever put up. Our best duties are so many splendid sins. Self-righteousness is the last idol taken out of the heart.
So we need the gospel to tell us the truth. What is that truth? William Beveridge put it this way:
I cannot pray but I sin. I cannot hear or preach a sermon but I sin. I cannot give alms or receive the sacrament but I sin. I can’t so much as confess my sins but my confessions are further aggravations of them. My repentance needs to be repented of. My tears need washing. And the very washing of my tears needs still to be washed over again with the blood of my Redeemer.
That’s being poor in spirit.

Thought to Remember for Today

These are the people Jesus identifies with—those who are as sinful as everyone else, but they own it, they fess up, and they trust only in Jesus. These will experience the kingdom of heaven and their churches will feel like heaven on earth.

Fitzpatrick, E. (2016). Grace untamed: a 60-day devotional. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.