Besides being a busy wife and mother, Shannon Lenz is a gifted communicator of God’s Word for Back to the Bible. She has produced 30 Bible teaching segments that are used in Back to the Bible’s daily, 4-step spiritual fitness outreach. More recently, Shannon’s efforts have been focused on creating the daily Forward devotionals. Here is a Forward that helps us get at the generosity of Jesus toward each of us and the people who surround us each day.
READ 2 CORINTHIANS 8:9 (ESV)
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 by his poverty might become rich.
REFLECT
What did Jesus give up when He came as a man to save us?
When we read literature and study history, we see common desires that have driven mankind from the very beginning. Things like power, wealth, glory, and immortality…People have always gone to great lengths in an attempt to acquire those things. When we go back to the Bible, we see men and women on the pages of Scripture who sought those things, too. But we also see Someone who didn’t go to great lengths to acquire those things.
Actually, He had all of those things already but He willfully gave them up. In today’s verse, Paul reminded the Corinthians of the gracious generosity of Christ. As the Son of God, Jesus literally has everything. He has power and glory and might. He isn’t just rich by human standards, He owns the entire world! After all, He created everything that exists.
In his New Testament Commentary, Dr. Warren Wiersbe explained just how rich Jesus was: “Certainly He was rich in His person, for He is eternal God. He is rich in His possessions and in His position as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is rich in His power, for He can do anything. Yet, in spite of the fact that He had all these riches—and more—He became poor.”
Jesus left His throne and His riches in heaven, took on human flesh, and dwelt among mankind. He was so rich but He became so poor. Why? Paul said that it was for our sake so that by His poverty, we can become rich.
Jesus set aside His divine riches and privileges to dwell among us as a poor man. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). He was still fully God, but all the fullness of God was squeezed into a tiny baby born of a poor virgin girl in Bethlehem. He grew up in the household of a simple carpenter. When He started His ministry, it was marked by service and sacrifice. Ultimately ending, of course, with the sacrifice of His life for our salvation.
Jesus gave up everything for our benefit. Isn’t that the ultimate example of gracious generosity? We can’t even wrap our minds around everything Jesus, the Son of God, sacrificed so that we could also become children of God and co-heirs with Christ (1 John 3:1, Romans 8:17).
In light of this, how should we live? In Philippians 2:5-8, the apostle Paul urged believers: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
As believers in Christ, we should imitate Christ. For our sake, He became poor so that in Him, we can be made rich.
RESPOND
Lord, it doesn’t seem to be enough just to say thank You for all that You sacrificed for me. But I am eternally grateful. Help me to show Your grace and love to others by living generously and humbly. Amen.
REVEAL
Follow Christ’s example today. Humbly look out for someone else’s interests. Putting them first and sacrificing for their sake will reveal the work of God in your heart.
Check out more Forward Devotionals here
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