Meekness that moves mountains

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

Conduct yourself with mildness and gentleness, and you will be blessed as an inheritor of the whole world.

Most English translations of this verse use the words like meek or humble instead of gentle to designate those who will be blessed as inheritors of the earth. As is typically the case, in shifting between languages certain meanings are lost and others are gained. What Yeshua is expressing here is not timidity or weakness, but rather strength that is under complete control, having the ability to demonstrate great power without harshness. This is a vital ingredient in the make up of the integrity of a believer.

It’s a non-intuitive way of viewing power in general, as we typically associate power with directness and abruptness of absolute authority or influence. However, the quality spoken of here is one of constancy of purpose and direction, yet having the ability to convey that definitive purpose in a way that is steady and unyielding but without being severe.

Biblical meekness or gentleness can be likened to a forest stream as it winds its way down a mountain in the wilderness. The power of the water is steady and unyielding, yet it doesn’t flow in a straight line from the top of the mountain to the lake into which it empties itself. It flows over and around rocks and obstacles as it makes its journey, softening the edges of hard rock and scooping bits of soil and pebbles in its path and carrying them away. Over time, its effects become more prominent as the channel for the stream becomes deeper and more defined. While, from one perspective, the water can be thought of as yielding to the hard rocks along the way, it is actually molding, shaping, and moving the mountain as it flows over and around the rocks and pebbles in its path,

This is the concept of biblical meekness or gentleness: strength under control, flexible but unyielding, having a powerful purpose but adapting to its environment while accomplishing its ends.

As believers express this integrity of gentleness in expressing God’s powerful purpose ar0und them, anything is possible. This is the type of power that truly inherits the earth.