Matthew 5:5
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Nice guys finish last”, said Leo Durocher, the baseball manager. “Do Unto Others, Then Split”, read a t-shirt I wore to elementary school once. This Beatitude of Jesus sounds so countercultural today but it would have sounded strange to his audience on the mount too. Most of his audience would have been at the mercy of landlords who owned the land. Jesus made a promise, quoting Psalm 37:11, that it would change. Jesus would turn that upside down. The first will be last, and the last will be first. It sounded like Jesus would lead an insurgency against Rome and his hearers were most likely all for it.
Then Jesus was arrested, mocked, spit on, flogged, and crucified. The most humiliating thing that can happen to a man in Roman Judea happened to Jesus. He was shown to be meek but didn’t look like he would inherit anything but the birds that would peck at his flesh. Then, 3 days later, he rose again from the dead and is at the right hand of the Father. He inherited the earth! Paul wrote in Romans 8:17 that we are fellow heirs with Christ. If we fall at his feet with meekness and walk the earth in humility and gentleness, we share his reward. We are not saps if we are mistreated in this world for obedience to him. We will truly rule the world with Jesus Christ when he returns. That should have an effect on how we see our present circumstances. Heirs learn of their riches at the reading of the will. Read the Bible today and learn about your windfall as an heir with your Great Benefactor, Jesus Christ.