Reading your Bible for Today December 14

December 14: 2 Corinthians 8:7-9

KJV Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 8:9
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.

Devotion:
Do you think you are a good person? Do you think you are reasonably intelligent? Do you think you can talk well? Do you think you are diligent? How about your grace? Without grace, we are just a good person – we may be very good, but that is all we are. If you insist on only sticking with friends instead of mixing with those that look up or down at you, then you are effectively building up a class system.

You may ask, “why should a king sit and talk with a beggar?”, or “why should a pacifist talk to a murderer?”  The reason would be to show they care about other people and not just of their kind! How far would the great explorers have got with the native people if he had all forced them to bow before them? Unfortunately, the answer is quite unclear because of human nature and what has happened in our past!

We seem to thrive on a class system, labelling ourselves in positions where we think we should be and trying to tell others of our new-found positions. We seem to like being put in place and we seem to like to look up at some people... But there are always those that we do not wish to look up at because we think that they do not deserve it! We see them doing things or saying things they ought not to and we break down the position they think they should be in.

What we need is more honest people willing to mix with other honest people. What we need is people to encourage others and not look down at them simply because they may be in a bit of a tight spot! Christ came down to be as a humble human being even though He is God. There was no reason for Him to have to come down and lower himself to our level other than to show His amazing love for us. His aim was to raise our spirits so that we can love Him back... Simple in theory, but hard for us to put into practise.

Points to Ponder:
Who do you look down at? (be honest!)

What view does God has of you?