Question: Why are the poor so rich in faith? Is it because they are poor? Answer: I think so.
Does that mean I need to be financially without to be rich in faith? Answer: Maybe… Maybe not…
James 2:5 (NLT) – “Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?“
Why?
When I close my eyes and imagine the preceding verses (James 2:1-4), I imagine the poor to look a lot like what I see when I see homeless people. I know that’s not always what the poor look like in this day and age. Perhaps that’s a bit of prejudice I need to work through, but that’s not the point I’m making here. I imagine the scene James describes in verses 1-4 with a well-dressed and known to be successful business person and a homeless person. That homeless person is dirty, disheveled, wearing ratty and mismatched and ill-fitting clothes. The homeless person also has the stench that comes along with living in the streets and not having the ability to bathe every day.
That’s the picture from which I write and from which God spoke to me in this verse.
Why are the poor rich in faith? I believe their situation in life has left them with no alternative but to completely trust in God for every single thing we take for granted. A legitimately poor person doesn’t know from where his or her next meal will come. A poor person doesn’t know how they will feed their family. A poor person doesn’t know what the next hour, much less what the next day, will hold. They simply exist now and trust in God to make the way for whatever their next step is.
They literally trust in God for everything.
Isn’t that exactly how the Lord Jesus has called us to live? Aren’t we supposed to die to ourselves (Gal 2:20)? Aren’t we in essence – no, in reality – supposed to depend on God for every next step? That implies that we take on the mindset of dependence as if we are poor… as if we are homeless…
Matthew 5:3 (NLT) “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.“
Discussion: Leave your comment below and share how this practically works in your life….
Running After Papa…