Jesus is famous for saying, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” In Colossians 3, Paul says that the follower of Jesus must put on “meekness.” What is it?
Many think that meekness is the opposite of being a “matador” as Frank Underwood says,
But is that really what meekness means? If Jesus commanded us to be meek, I have hard time thinking that it has much to do with being a doormat. If anyone was not a doormat, it was Jesus. He’s about as strong and tough as it comes. So, while meekness has gotten a bad wrap in our culture, I think it means something else.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary gives this as the primary definition of meekness: “enduring injury with patience and without resentment.” This sounds like Jesus. This sounds like Paul.
Could you imagine being a follower of Jesus and living this way? Choosing to endure injury with patience and without resentment. This takes strength and courage. This demands an extension of grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
We live in a time when every perceived slight sends people off the deep end. It seems as though many are offended all the time. There seems to be little that doesn’t offend. What we need is more meekness. We desperately need more people who are willing to endure injury with patience and without resentment.
Without resentment. That catches me up short. Often people will acquiesce to something but then they will resent the person that they have yielded to.
Where can we find such strength and courage? I think it comes from our identity. Who we are as followers of Jesus. If we could own and embrace the reality that we are chosen, holy, and beloved (Colossians 3) then we would have a basis from which to be meek. We must have a base from which to be meek from. This base is our identity in Christ.
from The Subversive Journey http://danielmrose.com/2016/08/25/meek-what-the/
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