Have you ever received the “perfect” gift from someone? Four years ago, that happened for my daughter Caleigh. Her brother Leyton gave her this cute little stuffed animal for her birthday, and the ensuing pictures and videos of her reaction were just too precious. You would’ve thought she’d been handed the moon.

As Jesus opens up His famous Sermon on the Mount, He promises a pretty special “gift” to His listeners. I doubt that many people fully understood at the time, but the gift couldn’t have been more perfect.

Jesus starts out chapter 5 with an interesting statement: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”

There’s an important phrase in there: poor in spirit. Being poor in spirit doesn’t have to do with financial status; instead, it’s more about one’s posture toward God. Rather than being proud or self-sufficient, a person who is poor in spirit is one who realizes that dependence on the Creator of the universe is the only stance worth taking.

I will never lose an opportunity to bring up the Ten Booms, a Dutch watchmaker’s family who lived in Holland during WWII. The story of Corrie, her sister Betsie, and their father has been such an inspiration to me. In fact, you might say that they lived out this whole “poor in spirit” thing on a daily basis as they risked their lives by hiding Jews in their home. They subsequently suffered through prison, physical pain, hunger, ridicule, and death (for Betsie and Casper) because of that decision.

If you haven’t read The Hiding Place, run – don’t walk – to get your own copy. It’s evident that Corrie had to make choices each day – choices to depend on God or to go her own way. She said,

It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability that counts.

Corrie understood something about living in the kingdom of God. She realized that people who relinquish control of their lives are blessed far beyond those who choose to selfishly handle things themselves.

She saw the kingdom of God for the perfect gift that it was. Surrendering her life to the King was worth it.

I’m so glad that Jesus’ offer of “the good life” is open to everyone. On the surface, it may not seem logical that anything good can come through surrender, but on the other side, an entire kingdom awaits!