Recently I came to understand more about some of the tenants of
reincarnation. One thing that I found particularly interesting was the
concept of how the poor are considered to be “getting what they deserve”
because of the misdeeds they committed in their former life.
Since this is
the belief, it follows that the rich would have no desire to help the poor
because to do so would only interfere with what has already been justly
determined. Therefore, having “compassion” on the poor is not a virtue that
you would find in a society that ascribes to the teaching of reincarnation.
If there is any hope at all for the poor in such a system of beliefs it
would be that they would live out their poverty in a noble way and in so
doing, improve their situation in the next life.
This morning when I was doing my devotional I came across this verse:
.. 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. – 2 Corinthians 8:9
What might we learn from such a verse? First, God’s definition of who is
poor expands far beyond material poverty. The greatest poverty that a person
can possess is spiritual poverty. This verse teaches us that God was mindful
of all our spiritually impoverished conditions. That we could not save
ourselves from the condemnation brought upon us by our own sin. That we
could never have fellowship with him while we were “objects of wrath”. That
there was no hope for us outside of His amazing grace saving a wretch like
us. Second, that God is a God who acts. He doesn’t just ordain, or wave his
hand of absolution from on high. No, He is a personal God who is not afraid
of getting his hands blood-stained. He is a compassionate God who has no
qualms about leaving his throne-room and deliberately choosing poverty that
He may save the sinner. The poverty that Jesus Christ willingly assumed was
exceptionally ugly. It contained ridicule, being spit upon, beaten and
crucified. An existence that was a far cry (literally) from the majestic and
glorified form He had in heaven before he emptied himself for the sake of
mankind. Lastly the verse teaches us that those who are in Christ are now
rich. Richer than the richest man in all the world because without Christ
his riches will fade and all that will be left for him is an eternal
separation from God. God tells us in this verse that true wealth is found
only in Christ and that just knowing Him is worth more than all the treasure
in the world.
The fact of the matter is that God is mindful of the materially poor and
desires to help them. He also calls us to do the same. Yet, He never wants
us to lose sight of the wealth we possess in Him and to what great lengths
He went to that we would be “rich” in Him.
For those of you who are reading this and are in Christ, you don’t have to
worry about what awaits you when you die. God’s word tells us that it is
appointed to man to die but once, and then the judgment, but that there is
no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. No, for the child of God, you are
saved by grace and will spend an eternity with Him. Perhaps only then will
we realize how truly rich we are.
For Him,
Rob