“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”—Matthew 5:5
I admire a wild horse’s beauty, strength, and unbridled passion. There’s something in all of us that wants to be like that.
At least I hope so.
No one wants to live with a weak, defeated, tame attitude. Your spirit, passion, strength, and desire to run the race need to thrive! However, an unbridled horse is of little use, even dangerous.
So how do we keep the fire alive without crushing the spirit? How do we live with abandon without being insensitive or hurtful?
The Greeks used an interesting word to describe taming a wild horse: meekness. The objective was to break the horse’s will, to capture that energy and power, but never break its spirit.
Jesus used the same word to describe a curious thing: “The meek shall inherit the earth.” This shocked His followers. Meekness was contrary to their image of a Messiah. They sought to conquer through military and political domination. They desired wealth acquired through hard work, self-assurance, and self-assertion. They misunderstood meekness.
Picture a majestic, black stallion pawing the ground as it breathes through flared nostrils. You can tell how restless and anxious it is to escape. You can’t get near it, but you are fascinated by it. It is powerful and charged with energy and reminds you of the horses who bore the knights of the roundtable, the princes and princesses in fairy tales, and the cowboys of the wild west.
It takes great skill to break a horse’s will without destroying its spirit. A broken spirit diminishes the desire or stamina to go to battle. But a horse that responds to every signal and nudge is a treasure and will run to its full potential.
When Jesus calls us to be meek, He is not asking us to be weak. He wants to break our stubborn wills (no one ever suffered from a broken will), but Jesus never broke anyone’s spirit. He is the One who revives and strengthens our spirits. He longs for us to be so in tune with Him that a sign or word will sharpen our spiritual senses and turn us in the right direction, so that we can realize our fullest potential.
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” John 6:63
