“The indispensable condition of receiving the kingdom of God is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty. To the poor in spirit, and only to the poor in spirit, the kingdom of God is given. For God’s rule which brings salvation is a gift as absolutely free as it is utterly undeserved…Pray for a fresh awareness of your spiritual poverty and his generosity.”
John Stott, The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character (Downers Grove: IVP, 1998) 14.