Rich and poor at the same time

Wednesday April 28, 2021

Rich and poor at the same time

In fact, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ : for you he became poor when he was rich, so that by his poverty you may be enriched. 2 Corinthians 8:9

For many people, happiness depends on what they have: money, consideration, power, etc. Some Christians, who discern the error of this ideology of happiness, readily add : "Money does not make happiness, but it contributes to it," which is another mistake. Indeed, true happiness is independent of material wealth.

Our Lord on earth was poor in material goods :

His father Joseph is a carpenter. At birth, his cradle is only the manger of a beast ; then he lives in someone else's house ; he uses another's boat ; women provide for his needs ; he borrows a colt ; he is buried in the tomb intended for another.

Yet in this poverty he appears, in his inner man, as the richest man of all time. He was rich in wisdom, wiser than Solomon (Luke 11:31). He was rich in love : he loved sinners to the point of giving his life for them ; as for his disciples, he loved them to the end (John 13:1). He was rich in compassion : Jesus saw a great crowd ; he was filled with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). He was rich in mercy : Go to your house and to your people and tell them all that the Lord has done for you, how he had mercy on you (Mark 5:19). He was full of joy : May my joy abide in you and your joy be complete (John 15:11). He was rich in inner peace : I leave you in peace, I give you my peace (John 14:27). He was rich in obedience : I came down from heaven to do, not my will, but that of him who sent me (John 6:38). He was rich in determination and courage : As the days drew near when he was to be caught up from the world, Jesus made the decision to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51).

Is it impossible to live like the Lord ? Let us remember that Paul wrote of himself and of his companions : As poor, and yet we enrich us much ; as having nothing, while we have everything (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)