Jump Start # 389 

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

  Paul is talking about salvation. He shows contrasts and changes of status between Jesus and us. Jesus was rich and became poor. We were poor and became rich. The original “rags to riches” story—but this one, done God’s way.

  Jesus was rich in Heaven. He is God. He was involved with creation and worthy of praise and honor of all the world. Jesus came to earth and in doing so He became poor. He lived like us. He got tired every day and had to go to sleep. He had to eat. There were bug bites, cranky people, heat, storms on the water, complaints, criticisms, and temptations. The worst of all, Jesus died. There is no death in Heaven—remember those Revelation passages. Jesus was accused of having a demon, others charged Him with being a glutton, and some even said He was a Samaritan, which would have been an extremely racial expression among the Jews. They spit on Jesus, beat Him, and nailed Him to the cross. None of those things happen in Heaven. He became poor. Many in the crowds saw Him as a teacher and nothing more. He didn’t fit the model they had for the Messiah, so He was accused of blasphemy. Jesus became poor. He did that for us.

  The apostle reminds us that we once were poor. He is not talking about economics but spiritual bankruptcy. Romans tells us that all have sinned. In another Roman passage it says that there is none that is righteous, not one. We were sinners, destined for eternal separation from God. That is as poor as a person can get. Helpless, hopeless and without God was our condition and our fate.

  The death and resurrection of Jesus brought salvation to those who believed and obeyed Jesus. Through that process, we became rich. We have been adopted into the family of God and become heirs of God. We have an inheritance awaiting us, which is Heaven. Nothing compares to Heaven. There is no place on earth that is as nice or just like Heaven. Earth is limited because of time, sin and brokenness. Disney is not Heaven. The Super Bowl is not Heaven.

  The saving grace of Jesus Christ made this possible. It made this switch in our spiritual economy. Without Jesus, we remain broke and busted. Because of Jesus, we are rich.

  These thoughts help us. We can feel left behind by the world. You may be driving an old car, living in a place you don’t like and barely getting by. That has a way of wearing on a person and getting them down. But if you are a Christian, you are rich. You have something that is more valuable than money—and that is salvation. You are headed to a place that is far better than anyone has ever seen and it’s not for a visit. It’s not a vacation. You don’t go through Heaven with a tour group. It becomes your home. And it’s not just for a semester, or a year, but forever. You’ll live there longer than you live on earth. And you will live with the greatest people of all time—the people of Heaven.

  We need to remember what God has done for us. We need to continue to walk with God and be thankful for that wonderful love and grace of Christ. We are rich in Christ, what a great thought and a great relationship.

  Paul would say at the end of the next chapter, “thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

Roger