Rags to Riches

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2Co 8:9 AV)

Rich is such a relative term.  How rich is rich?  In what exactly is some rich?  Material things?  Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth regarding giving to relieve the needs of the saints at Jerusalem.  He uses the example of other churches much more destitute as the model for the church at Corinth to follow.  Although the immediate context is the giving of material things, the baseline is what Christ has done for us.  This measure is not in physical things, although God does provide our every need.  Rather, the baseline it given to the Corinthian church as the motivation to share the material by which God has blessed.  That which Christ gave was eternal life.  He gave everything he materially had.  He gave his family.  He gave his friends.  He gave His place in glory.  He limited the exercise of His divine attributes.  He gave His personal comfort and necessary food.  He went so far as to give His life.  When Paul says that Jesus Christ became poor, it literally means He became as poor as any one person could ever be.  They even took His garments from Him and gambled with them.  Wealth is not always measured in tangible ways.

I was asked many years ago why my gaze was primarily cast downward.  The one asking thought I was despondent or depressed all the time.  But that was not the case.  My eyes were primarily cast downward because there was an entire world to be discovered at the level of my feet.  There were many pennies found.  Several larger denominations were discovered.  There were relics buried in the dirt waiting to be risen anew.  When hunting became a hobby, one doesn’t look up for sign.  One looks down.  The eyes look for tracks, scat, or any other indication that one’s query is nearby.  A scrap here.  A rub there.  Fresh tracks.  Droppings.  They all indicated that meat might be coming to the freezer.  To take the shot, one must look down before one looks up.  If our eyes are constantly cast upward, we will miss the details that make up life.  With eyes cast down, life moves slower.  Prizes become more noticeable and appreciated.  I have a little wooden box with some of those treasures lying within.  A few Indian-head nickels are there.  A diamond tie tack is safely stored there.  A few rare pennies are in that box.  Many little things that mean the world to me are in that little box.

We go through life so fast that we miss the richness of what God has bestowed.  We are so temporally minded that we forget how eternally blessed we are.  There is a place called heaven where the streets are gold and the glory of God outshines the sun.  There is a place so wonderful that human words fail to describe it.  Most of all, an eternity of unbroken fellowship with our Creator is waiting the poor sinner.  No, Jesus did not die so that we could have a full bank account and a house so large that half the city could live there.  Jesus did not die so that every wish we could have would be met, no matter what that might be.  Rather, the riches from God are not tangible ones.  Those things we enjoy in this life will pass with this life.  Those things given for eternity are here to stay.  We are blessed.  More than our minds can comprehend.  All because Jesus made Himself poor.