The Final Blessing
[Matthew 5:1-12] It was the very end of a retreat for Christian men. Technically, the retreat was over and I was coming off a high I had not felt in years. God had showered me with so many blessings in this short weekend retreat and I thought, “ there can't possibly be any more for God to bless me with at this moment...I can't possibly be blessed any more than this .” I was wrong. God gave to me one last blessing before my wife and I, kids in tow, headed home that afternoon. And it is a blessing like I have never received before, and likely never will again. “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven .” On the retreat, I experienced what this type of spiritual poverty is. It isn't the poverty of having “zero spiritual life”...but one of emptiness, one of need. It is that poverty that says, “ I have nothing to offer except what God gives me, and I need God to fill me .” Experiencing this was wonderful. It helped me see the areas in my life wh