Monday Morning Mail, 21st July 2014

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Yesterday, in our morning services, we continued in the Sermon on the Mount by looking at Matthew 6:1-18. If I was picking a summary sentence for the whole sermon, I'd pick the opening one "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." It's thinking through what it looks like for us to be "poor in spirit". What does it mean for us to recognise that we can't earn God's favour, that we can never be good enough for him, and yet to live as those he has adopted into his family?

In Matthew 6, Jesus turns to what we might call "religious acts" - things like giving, prayer and fasting. We see straight off that there is a wrong way to do them, and a right way to do them.

The wrong way is to do them like those who have something to prove to ourselves or to others. That's the path of those who try to show off by flaunting their generosity or asking for their name to be associated with their gift. It's the way of those who make sure they always use the right words in their prayers and make them sound just right. It's the way of those who want others to see that they are pious. It's also the way of those who give because they want to show themselves that they are generous, or who pray because we don't want to be like those people who don't pray.

None of that is what it means to be poor in spirit. All of it is trying to prove ourselves, or show that we have something to bring. None of it is about approaching God as our gracious Father who loves us and accepts us not because of anything good we have done, but because of Jesus.

But giving, praying and fasting are all good things to do. They are all things which Jesus assumes his followers will do. How can we do them rightly? Jesus gives us some tips.

  • Do them in secret where possible. If we don't let others know, then we won't be trying to impress them.

  • Do them un-self-consciously when possible. It's easy to slip into the trap of impressing ourselves by how well we are praying or giving, but Jesus says not to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing when we give – give without being self-conscious.

  • Give generously.

  • Pray, trusting God as our loving and perfect heavenly Father

  • Surrender to him, so we want his name glorified (not ours), his kingdom to come (not ours) and his will to be done (not ours)

  • Depend on him in everything – for what we need for the day, for forgiveness, for rescue and protection.

  • Practice the habit of putting God ahead of our natural desires and urges. He matters more. That's the point of fasting – it's showing that we trust God and recognise that we need him and long for him more than food.

May we follow God more and more clearly this week, not because we want to look good, but because we love him and know his love for us.

God bless,

John

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