Imagine a rich person truly in need of help but unwilling to accept it because to do so would be to admit that their wealth wasn’t sufficient. Now hear the words of Jesus:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
I think Paul was illustrating this truth when he named all the things that he used to put his confidence in, all the things that he used to consider valuable. Because of the incredible worth he found in knowing Jesus, he chunked all of that other stuff aside. He said that he wanted a righteousness that came from God, not one that he could achieve through his own law-keeping (Philippians 3:4-8). So he came to Jesus with nothing of value, nothing of his own to trust in … not even his own righteousness. He came empty-handed; he came poor. This poverty made him able to receive all that Jesus offers.
Matt has been teaching us a new song that I think also points us to Jesus’ teaching. The words of this song say:
I come broken to be mended; I come wounded to be healed; I come desperate to be rescued; I come empty to be filled; I come guilty to be pardoned
This is the realization of a sick person that they need a doctor (Mark 2:17), of a weary person that they need rest (Matthew 11:28).
This is the kind of poverty of spirit that makes us able to receive the riches of grace that Jesus offers.
So let’s not hide our need behind some sort of supposed self-sufficiency. All that does is prohibit us from receiving true life from Jesus. Let’s be quick to acknowledge our neediness, our wounded-ness, our desperation, our emptiness and our guilt. Such poverty of spirit is the path to true wealth.
– Deryk Pritchard, Preacher