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 through his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9
“The poverty that God asks of all of us is not a matter of squalor, meanness, slovenliness, or idleness. Virtue does not reside in these things. In order to learn to live detachment from things in the midst of the world of men, we have to look at our model, Jesus Christ, who for your sake became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.”
Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 1 (London: Scepter, 1993) 206.
At Mission Hills Church this last Sunday, Dr. Craig Smith, drilled down on the contrast between Jesus arriving in the lowly manger and the message of the angels about “glory to God in the highest” and it got me thinking.
Jesus did arrive in the lowest of low places. He became poor so through His poverty, we might become rich.
And when we serve Him generously, we accomplish the same thing. We become poor so that we might enrich others. And in so doing, God enriches us for ongoing generosity.
So as you gaze at the nativity today or ponder the first Christmas eve, think about Jesus, our model.
He humbled himself and showed us the way of poverty not as a way of squalor, meanness, slovenliness, or idleness. He showed us the way of detachment from things and attachment to God.
As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, let us ask God if there is anything we need to detach from.
I will ponder that with you on my walks with Grace today. I posted her as a header photo as the mornings where we live near the mountains have been gorgeous this week. Not a white Christmas for sure.