In our Western, materialistic mindset, many Christians believe that Jesus came to bring us material possessions. “The wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous!” is an oft-quoted scripture. But when the Bible talks about wealth, riches and prosperity, is it talking about financial gain?

When Jesus Christ left heaven, he was “rich” because He had everything. He sat at the right hand of the Father, who owns not just our world, but the entire universe. But when he became a man, he immediately became “poor” for our sakes. His being “rich” or “poor” had nothing to do with a bank account or personal assets. It had everything to do with His closeness to the heavenly Father.

In this world, there is only one way to find true riches and that is by finding the wealth of life that is only in Jesus Christ. In contrast to the worldly wealth that is left behind when we die, these are the riches that cannot ever be taken away – yet we can possess them now!

We must move beyond thinking of “prosperity” in purely monetary or materialistic terms. Limiting abundance to finances ignores the wealth of time, gifts and abilities that mark truly successful people. True prosperity is having all the resources we need to fulfill God’s purpose for us in life and the abiding peace and joy enabling us to be perfectly content in abundance or while facing grave challenges. It is joy “unspeakable and full of glory”. It is possible only when we are absolutely convinced that our God – the God in whom we trust explicitly and exclusively – will “supply all of our needs, according to His riches in glory.” We must be delivered from defining our desires as needs. It is God alone who truly understands needs and He is most anxious to meet them.

None of this is to say that material wealth is wrong. It’s not a question of whether or not we have “things.” The issue is whether or not these “things” have us!

In order to obtain His riches, we must do as He did. We must become “poor in spirit” in that we empty ourselves of ourselves. Just as Jesus Christ gave Himself up on our behalf, we must give up our personal ambition and desires for Him.

Once we allow Jesus to become the bridge of righteousness that enables us to become close to God the Father, then we can obtain the riches that Jesus abandoned in order to become the sacrifice for our sins. As we come close to the heart of God, we will discover an eternal wealth that surpasses anything this world will ever offer. Then, and only then, can we ever be rich.

This Week
Read about the prosperity of the Macedonian church in 2 Corinthians 8:1-15. Discover how, despite being poor, they obtained the true riches of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
”Lord, thank You for sending Your Son to become poor for our sakes. Help us to find the true riches that You seek to give us.”