Day 1- The Poverty of the Cross

“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 Cor. 8:9

What kind of God becomes poor to make us rich?  Who would put aside the majesty and glories of Heaven for those He created? Who would set aside a crown of gold for a crown of thorns?  What kind of God would allow Himself to be nailed to a cross for the sake of others?  Yet this was God’s doing according to the Scriptures.  It was His plan for the redemption of the world He loves.  What else does the poverty described in this verse teach us about  our God?  What can we learn about the Lord and His sacrifice by meditating on this thought during Lent?

During this devotional journey we will be thinking about the blessed mystery of this poverty which Jesus chose to bring about our ssalvation.  We will not only discover what this teaches us about God but also, how this should guide us in our daily living.

Jesus talked about the benefits of sacrifice many times in the Scriptures.  He also talked about the danger of riches.  In His most well known message in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”.  We know Jesus loved the poor and even commanded us to take care of them, but this verse speaks to our need for poverty.  The cross reveals to us a God who not only wanted to help the poor but “became poor”.  Therefore, if we are called to follow Jesus (and we are) and if we want to become more like Him (and we should) than we must dig deeper to find out what it means to be a part of the “blessed poor”.

We will spend the next 40 days digging into the opening part of the sermon on the mount.  I believe that we will find some rich treasures in these blessed beattitudes.  I hope that walking through these simple phrases will draw us deeper to Christ and closer to the cross this Easter.

The Lenten season is an ancient Christian tradition that dates back to the early church.  It is the 40 days and 6 Sabbaths leading up to the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  Believers are encouraged to fast and pray daily during this time as they contemplate the sacrifice of Jesus for our sin.  As we begin this devotional journey to the cross together I want to challenge you to prayerfully consider adding or subtracting something from your daily routine that will be a reminder to you of the Lord’s great love for you.

Today thank the Lord for His willingness to become poor that you might become rich.  Ask Him to open your heart and your mind this Lenten season that you might gain insight that will draw you closer to Him and to each other.