As a young minister, I bought commentaries and resources to help prepare myself as best I could for the call God had placed in my life. Early on, I came across the writings of Charles Spurgeon. I often wondered why Jesus began the beatitudes with “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” I think Spurgeon gave the best answer to my question. He placed emphasis on the word “spirit.” He reminded me that Jesus was always probing the deeper issues of life, the heart of a man.

We see that in another of the beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart.” Our relationship with God was always preeminent with Jesus. He didn’t ignore our human needs while on earth, as we will see later, but He always focused primarily on what was necessary to go to heaven. That requires a spirit that sees the need of God, and anyone who cannot see that is poor indeed.

However we choose to look at the word “poor” in Matthew and Luke, Jesus shared some good news. He said if we accepted Him as Savior, we could inherit the kingdom of God. In heaven, there is no poverty or lack of any kind. We often point to the outward expression where the Bible tells us the entire city is made of pure gold and the gates are made of pearl. But gold and pearls are minor compared to being with God for all eternity. Dwelling in a land of no more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more poverty of body or spirit.

“There’s a land that is fairer than day, and by faith, I can see it afar. For the Father waits over the way. To prepare us a dwelling place there. In the sweet by and by…”