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Key Text: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5, NKJV).

We don’t hear the word meek used much, except maybe when reading about Moses or studying the Beatitudes. It’s not hard to figure out why, either. Meekness is defined as “enduring injury with patience and without resentment.” No wonder we don’t hear much about it; it’s hardly a trait well respected in cultures today. Sometimes the Bible translates this word as “humble.” Again, humility isn’t a character trait seen as desirable by most cultures either.

But meekness, enduring injury with patience and without resentment, is one of the most powerful characteristics of Jesus and His followers. And yet, it’s not an end in itself: meekness of spirit can be a powerful weapon in the hands of those who are in the midst of pain and suffering. Indeed, the crucible is a great place to learn meekness of heart, for through our own meekness and broken places we can be powerful witnesses for God.

Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights two major themes.
1. Meekness is essential to Christianity. However, just as essential is a correct understanding of biblical meekness and living it out in our lives. Biblical meekness does not spring out of a political calculation; rather, it is a genuine outlook on the world through the prism of God’s most fundamental attribute, love.
2. Christians are not meek in and of themselves. Rather, their source of meekness is in their loving, gracious Three-in-One God: the Father; the Son and Savior, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit.

Thought Question: What is the relationship between suffering and meekness? How can we, in our own meekness and broken places, be a witness to others? How can meekness really be a strength, not a weakness, for the Christian?


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