September 30th

Rich in Faith

             Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

James 2:5

             What if this is true?

            What if those who are rich and powerful and influential and popular and have it all…what if they have already received everything that they are going to get for eternity? 

            What if those who are poor and those who are outcasts and those whose bodies do not work…what if the poor and despised are the ones who have just not received the best of what God has for them yet?  What if all their riches come in the afterlife?  What if the people who society looks down on are actually the ones who are the richest?  Could that be true?

            Our world is geared towards becoming more like the “haves” and less like the “have nots.”   We work hard so that we can have bigger houses and better cars.  We invest so that we can have vacations and the best foods.  We use our time and our talents to provide for our families so that we are protected against the problems that arise in life.  And then we see how the 1% live and we realize that there is so much more that we could buy…there is an entirely different lifestyle that we could aspire to if we were only wealthier.

            What if these 75 years of living are the very best that the rich will ever have across all of eternity?  Would you trade 75 years of struggling through this life if it meant that for the rest of eternity you lived like a prince or a princess?  That is totally a deal that we would make, right?

            What if the ones that we should be aspiring to emulate are not the rich but the poor?  What if struggling to pay bills but being incredibly rich in faith is actually the wiser move in the long run?  Would that be worth it?

            I equate our children with the poor in this passage.  I believe that they have been gifted with God to be rich in faith.  I believe that God looks at them as His children, His heirs, and welcomes them into Eternity with open arms and a wide smile as He says, “Wait until you see what I have for you!” 

            My son is not rich in money.  He is not rich in friends.  He is not rich in vehicles or computers or other material wealth.  I have not been able to give him those things.  He is, however, rich in faith and well situated to spend eternity living like royalty.  God knows our kids; He has seen everything that they have endured and everything that they have missed out on.  Their riches are coming…they are just going to arrive a little later than other peoples.

           

A moment to reflect:

If you could only choose one of these options, would you rather be:

·         Rich in life and poor after death

·         Poor in life and rich after death

Why?