“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.” – 2 Corinthians 8:9
Think about it!!! Jesus, Who was present at Creation and through Whom all things were made, stepped out of the glory of the heavenly throne room into our messed up, ugly, hate-filled, broken world. Jesus set aside His exalted heavenly status to become an infant in Bethlehem. He left the glory and riches of heaven for the poverty of life on Earth. Jesus left perfection to experience hunger, thirst, heat, cold, life, death, love, betrayal, and pain firsthand. He did that for YOU!!!
Jesus exchanged His throne for a cross, so that by His sacrificial death and resurrection you could be rescued from the squalor of sin, spiritual poverty, separation from God, and inevitable damnation. Jesus become poor so that everyone who believes in Him could be exalted as beloved children of God, given an eternal inheritance, and raised above the angels we will one day judge. He did that for YOU!!!
All this was an act of extraordinary grace. Grace is a gift, something that isn’t earned or deserved. Jesus owed you nothing. You didn’t deserve to be raised out of our spiritual poverty. Your best efforts earned no favor in the eyes of a perfect and holy God. But Christ’s did. He gave Himself to the poverty of humanity to redeem you from your poverty. Not because of anything you’ve done to deserve it, but because He’s gracious, loving, and merciful. He did that for YOU!!! Praise our gracious Lord Jesus Christ!