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December 28 Daily Devotional

A Rich Sinner

Frans Bakker

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. —2 Corinthians 8:9

Bible Reading

2 Corinthians 8:9

Devotional

What does Christmas mean? The text shows us that Christmas actually means to exchange. To exchange is to give and to receive. It means to give poverty to the Child and to receive wealth from Him. It is to give guilt to Him and to receive an acquittal from Him. To celebrate Christmas means to celebrate the great exchange. We see in the manger a poor Child, and at the manger a poor sinner, who has been made rich by His poverty. Christ, through His poverty, makes poor sinners rich. That is what we read in our text. He gives riches. What are those riches? The same riches He had before He left heaven. He enriches with the blessed heavenly life. He makes a sinner rich in God. He gives the gift of heaven, wherein God dwells.

Those who truly celebrate Christmas are beggars. In their poverty they fit in well at the stable. Ladies and gentlemen do not belong there, for they would only rip and soil their clothes. But beggars have rags, and they have nothing more to lose. They come into the stable as poor beggars, but they leave the stable as kings. By His poverty they have been made rich. And in their poverty, they meet Christ. In meeting the Savior, they are made everlastingly rich.

At the celebrations of Christmas held a few days ago, were you, as it were, a beggar at the manger? Would you want to make such an exchange? Or are you not poor? Remember that rich ones are sent away empty. If you did not receive anything of the blessing of the Son of God, then that is because you are rich. Rich sinners did not receive anything at Christmas. There are so many rich sinners even after having experienced grace. People who want to be esteemed are sent away empty-handed.

Christ delights to see the poor come to Him. He receives the beggars, those who have nothing and who are miserable; they are welcome. They see in His stable something of His great humiliation and they see there is grace there in abundance. Blessed are the poor, for they will be filled, for the Son of God is at the stable, He who left everything to make poor people rich. He knows and understands sinners in their poverty; He is the Shepherd of the sheep, who will give them what they need. He will give “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa. 61:3).

Child of God, you also need this grace that makes a sinner poor; in this way you will again be made rich. Christ became so poor that He even lost His blood. This is the essential wealth for those who cannot pay with their own blood, for they realize the poison of sin is in their blood. His blood is fully sufficient for sinners; that is why He is rich. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.

 

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