Rags to Riches

We all love a good rags to riches story. Someone who is able to climb out of an unfortunate circumstance and better himself. We love rooting for the underdog, the "Rudy"... the Cinderella. For most of us, we are more compassionate to those less fortunate. So today is a reminder of OUR rags to riches story.

I've been busy lately and its been hard to meditate on the significance of today and this week. But I believe its important to take time out to find the true significance of this week, so that it doesn't become just a formality. Just another holiday. Many of us, myself included, live our lives believing we are rich for the wrong reasons. Our security, comfort and sense of well being are many times rooted in things like our job, our financial stability, our health, our spouse, kids, siblings, friends.. our loved ones. Because when we encounter people without jobs.. without financial stability... or even worse, without friends, family, and loved ones. We start to believe in their poverty. We start to feel compassion and think that they are "less fortunate". They need help. In a sense they do and they are... but this points to the fact that we DO value these things as our fortune. Our sense of wealth is directly tied to these things. It is true that the bible shows Jesus ministering to the poor, sick, and the orphaned, but His compassion doesn't rise merely from a sympathy of their physical states. Society BELIEVED them to be the sick, poor, and the orphaned, based on their own value and wealth system. In it of itself, Jesus was less concerned about the actual sickness, the actual financial poverty, the fact that someone was without a father. In fact there are so many of these people today. He was and is always concerned with out hearts. These were the people ready to see the spiritual poverty in their lives and thus also attain the riches of Gods kingdom through salvation. This is why it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through an eye of a needle. It is a heart/pride/perception of poverty/need issue. Jesus is making a distinction. We can witness this with the story where Jesus says to the paralytic, "your sins are forgiven". The paralytic wants to be healed of his sickness and his state of poverty/sickness (being a paralytic). But Jesus sees the spiritual poverty in his life and knows THAT is what he needs. He is healed of both BECAUSE Jesus knows our value and wealthy system is different. The bible account says he healed the paralytic physically, to show us that He has the "authority to forgive sins", which is what Jesus is ultimately concerned with. To us, seeing a paralytic healed is not only more significant but more miraculous. To Jesus, that was a way to speak to us and to teach us. Jesus knows our scope on life, our value system... and what our hearts desire in our sin. He is trying to get us to see what we truly need.

Jesus does not see us with the same lens. He see's the poverty of our souls and hearts. He weeps with compassion for our sin. Because to Him, He knows that it separates us from attaining what He knows are TRUE riches. Our goal is Christ himself, He is our treasure... Though we are unable to truly grasp His worth at our current state, we know that through the word, He is worth more than anything this world has to offer.

To me personally, I see that I often find comfort and security in my "worldly" wealth. I have a good family, a loving wife and kid... we are financially in the top 2% of the world and I feel blessed. It is hard to remember truly the depths of poverty and sin that Jesus rescued me from. But during this time, I remember pro actively once again, the depth of sin... the depth of the miry clay that Jesus pulled me out of. I'm reminded that despite the fact that I was a prideful, fearful, still confused, and selfish little kid when He saved me, I was truly truly poor in my soul. I am the worst sinner I know, and if God is who is says He is, my sin is detestable in his sight. An abomination in who I am without Christ. He endured the road to calvary, endured the cross, and resurrected from the grave to complete our rags to riches story.

Lastly, it would be a bit foolish and self absorbed to think that this easter mainly represents our rags to riches story. It is just a perspective. Ultimately, we celebrate the significant part of Gods glorious plan coming to fruition... as we eagerly and desperately wait for the completion of His plan in the returning of Jesus Christ. We celebrate that we are now able to escape our state of extreme poverty REGARDLESS of our earthly circumstance, however good or bad... that by the name of Jesus we are now rich. That He is now ours to enjoy. But this has always been about Him and His story... and we are reminded to rejoice in our riches by lifting high the banner of Jesus and living for others to hear about the coming of our King!