2 Corinthians 8:9; For Your Sakes He Became Poor

2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is highlighted by the Apostle Paul as our example. Christ gave Himself for us. As the God of heaven, Jesus put aside His glory to become a man and to suffer as a man so as to save sinful man and reconcile him to a holy God. Jesus gave everything, He is the most generous of all man who walked on earth.

He was so generous that He gave all He had for our sakes that we through His poverty might become eternally rich. [MacDonald]

In The Grace Awakening, Charles Swindoll writes:

“I vividly remember my last spanking. It was on my thirteenth birthday, as a matter of fact. Having just broken into the sophisticated ranks of the teen world, I thought I was something on a stick. My father wasn’t nearly as impressed as I was with my great importance and new-found independence.

“I was lying on my bed. He was outside the window on a muggy October afternoon in Houston, weeding the garden. He said, ‘Charles, come out and help me weed the garden.’

“I said something like: ‘No…it’s my birthday, remember?’ My tone was sassy, and my deliberate lack of respect was eloquent. I knew better than to disobey my dad, but, after all, I was the ripe old age of thirteen.

“He set a new 100-meter record that autumn afternoon. He was in the house and all over me like white on rice, spanking me all the way out to the garden. As I recall, I weeded until the moonlight was shining on the pansies.

“That same night he took me out to a surprise dinner.

“Earlier, he gave me what I had deserved. Later he gave me what I did not deserve. The birthday dinner was grace.” — Craig Brian Larson¹

Our Lord Jesus Christ was sent by our heavenly Father as a suffering Servant to give Himself a ransom for our salvation. Indeed, we deserve to be punished in eternal hellfire for our sins. Yet Christ died for us. By His sacrifice upon the cross, we have eternal life.

Thank God for giving His Son and His kingdom to us. How could we think that we are sacrificing too much for what we can do to repay our gospel debt!

May the Lord help us to present ourselves as living sacrifice for the Master’s use. Amen.

¹Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times.