Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who are engaged in never-ending quest for truth, goodness, and soul unfoldment. Their deepest desires will be fulfilled. As Jesus expressed this thought in the gospel of Thomas,

"Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all".

This is why I think that the teaching of Jesus does not encourage blind faith in any way. Are we to seek something to believe blindly? It would be unreasonable. We search for something which we consider true and valuable, for something which makes our life meaningful and increase our happiness. We easily and willingly let go of ideas and mental patterns which block our progress. For searching attitude there are no "holy cows".

Let no good we have ever stop us from seeking greatness. Let nothing stops us from moving along with the Spirit which is above and beyond all intellectual constructions, visible forms of worship, and codes of behavior.

We will understand Jesus' idea of "poverty in spirit" even better if we look at His conversation with the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22).

This text is a stumbling block for many sincere believers, for it seems to tell us that the spiritual perfection can be achieved only by those who totally renounce all their earthly possessions. Certainly it cannot be true. Giving is a noble and rewarding act, but there are no reasons to expect that it can bring about a complete spiritual transformation to a giver. Let us also note that nowhere else in the Bible we will find a direct commandment to renounce material wealth.

The language of the Bible is symbolic, and we won't understand Jesus at all without taking this into account. So, when He said to the young man, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven", it had nothing to do with money. Why? Because the topic of their discussion was spiritual perfection, not finances. Jesus used vivid images, but never changed the subject.

The rich young ruler was a law-abiding person, just like many of believers in our days. Such people study spiritual laws (which are given in the form of commandments) and do their best follow them. Their life has its own reward. So, at first Jesus referred him to the commandments. But the young man kept all the commandments and still wasn't satisfied. His soul begun its awakening to true greatness, but he was uncertain about further directions. What did Jesus do? He challenged him to to empty himself, let go of his spiritual and intellectual "wealth" - all of preconceived ideas about life, world, and God. This was the only way to perfection.

To be perfect is to be open at the top, that is to be open for growth. Within a closed system of religious doctrines, commandments, and rules of conduct, an individual cannot always stay in alignment with God. For God is neither dead nor static. God is alive. God's Spirit always moves, and we are to move along with it.

It is true that some systems of thoughts and rules of conduct are good and useful. They can provide meaningful life and satisfaction to a person at a certain level of his/her development. But let us remember that that there will be the time when the Spirit will call us upward and forward - beyond our borders. When it happens, let us not be like the rich young ruler who was attached to his goodness so much that he missed greatness.

(to be continued)