"The Thankful Heart"

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3) This morning was a little strange, seeing that I slept in till 7:00, and that I had not thought anything about my post this morning; quite the opposite from the night before. Then, as I was giving Marianne her first med of the day, it came to me, "The Thankful Heart", that was the title of today's post; which I thought would work fine, seeing that the last Scripture I wrote from Colossians was 2:6 & 7, wherein Paul speaks about "abounding therein with thanksgiving". And then I read the day 20 of our year long study of Matthew, and have something all together new to share about! The whole point of Paul's meaning to what he said in verses 2:6 & 7, was how we must realize our inability to measure up to God's expectations and holiness; therefore, we walk in Christ, and in His ability; being thankful for the grace that we have been given; and holding unto that as the salvation of our souls. Much said in a few sentences, but so was Jesus' first teaching words in 'The Sermon on the Mount'. 'Blessed' is a word that indicates someone possessing the favor of God, that state of being marked by fullness from God. This is someone who's satisfaction comes from God and not from favorable circumstances. 'The poor in spirit' indicates someone who has realized their utter helplessness in keeping or doing what is required spiritually for God's approval. I think a good example of this might be 'The rich young ruler', who came to Jesus with the confidence of having all that was required to inherit the kingdom of God, yet walked away lacking what was required to obtain it. If you remember those many postings about this young man, it was thought that he was Mark, who later did what the Lord instructed him in; selling all of his wealth, giving it to the poor, and following Jesus. This I believe he did by realizing how short he came from keeping all that God commanded, even though he had initially thought that he had kept it all from his youth; until he realized that spiritually he was bankrupt and in need of a Saviour. This again would explain this young man's effort to hold onto Jesus as they were taking Jesus away in the garden the night of His arrest; the young man having nothing left but a garment to cover his naked body, was desperate to not let go One who made his spirit rich... (Mark 14:50-52)