I keep feeling inspired to write these days...so here we go again: Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit", but what does it mean to be poor in spirit or to be humble? I just read this wonderful piece by Brennan Manning in his book "Reflections for Ragamuffins":
- "The awareness of our innate (*something we're born with*) poverty, that we were created from the clay of the earth and the kiss of God's mouth, that we came from dust and shall return to dust, pulls away the mask of prestige, of knowledge, of social class, or of strength - whatever it is we use to command attention and respect.
Poverty of spirit breaks through our human pretenses, freeing us from the shabby sense of spiritual superiority and the need to stand well with persons of importance. Poverty brings us to the awareness of the sovereignty of God and our absolute insufficiency. We simply cannot do anything alone.
Any growth or progress in the spiritual life cannot be traced to our paltry (*small*) efforts. All is the work of grace. We cannot even acknowledge that Jesus is Lord except through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Life is lagniappe (*something given as a free gift*). We are faced with the possibility of genuine humility. I am convinced that without a gut-level experience of our profound spiritual emptiness, it is not possible to encounter the living God" -
Amen, brother! Well written!
Torben
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