Where the Poor and Rich Meet Together

By Rick Blue, Retired Pastor of Family Fellowship Church, Greenville, TX

Read James 1:9-11.

Edgar lived in an old shack near the railroad tracks.  He came to school in ragged, dirty clothes and was usually barefooted.  At lunch, he would sit alone under a live oak tree while the rest of us went to the cafeteria. There was no free lunch in those days. Frank, the son of a medical doctor, rode a shiny new Schwinn bicycle to school.  He wore fine clothes and bought his lunch at the Dairy King across from the school.

Edgar was poor.  Frank was rich.  Their lives were so far apart that the distance between them might be called “The Great Divide.”   But today’s Scripture reading reveals that there are two places where the poor and rich meet together.

But today’s Scripture reading reveals that there are two places where the poor and rich meet together.

They meet together at the cross.

It is at the cross where the poor are lifted from physical poverty to spiritual riches, and it is at the cross where the rich must abandon their wealth in their hearts in order to receive true riches. Jesus said in Mathew 19:23 that it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. A rich young man came to Jesus one day, seeking eternal life.  Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor.  He did not choose to sell everything he had, and that day, he turned away from following Jesus. 

They meet together at the grave.

Just as the flower of the field eventually passes away, so do both the rich and the poor.  In Luke 12, Jesus told of a rich man who had more of this world’s riches than he could ever need, but it wouldn’t buy him one more day of life when his time to die arrived.  That is true of every one of us.  Rich or poor, we will all one day face the grave.  

Before going to the grave, the wise person will first go to the cross.

Before going to the grave, the wise person will first go to the cross.

Reflective Questions:

1. Do you consider yourself to be rich or poor? On what basis do you make this consideration? 
2. Has your being rich or poor had any effect on your spiritual life? If so, was it for the positive or the negative? 
3. Have you been to the cross, trusting Jesus as your savior? If yes, write out a brief salvation testimony or share it verbally with a friend. If not, contact a local pastor and let them know you would like them to share the Good News of Jesus dying on the cross. 

Memory Verse:

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation. James 1:9

Prayer:

Dear God, I am thankful that all of humanity is equal when we stand before the cross of Jesus Christ. I am thankful that You show no partiality to the rich or the poor. Help me also to show no partiality to others but equally point all to You. 

Related Scriptures:

I Corinthians 15:22; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Proverbs 19:1; I Peter 1:24; I John 2:17; Isaiah 40:7-8; Psalm 37:35-36