Ephesians 1:7
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
One of the beatitudes is "Blessed are those that are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven", (Matthew 5:3). God wants to bless us with His riches. He seeks to reach out to all of us.
This poverty of spirit isn't a celebration of that state, but an acknowledgement of the situation of all our souls. We are all in need of help and healing. Some are unaware of this. To cope we tend to hide this. Some go way over the top to boast of their rich, superior state. They celebrate their rich place and can even bully or make fun of the "less fortunate".
To accept Christ we are beginning the journey to being poor in spirit. We are aware that we need His redemption. This isn't the end of that thinking. The closer we get to Christ, the more we realize our need for Him. We are far worse than we know. He doesn't grind our nose in our poverty. The greater our joy is the closer we get. It sounds like a contradiction. The Israelites felt dread as they got closer to God on the mountain. That's because they weren't in Christ.
As we learn of our poor state, we cry out to God, "Help me!" That's what He is looking for. We know the truth and see Him as loving and able to help. It's at that point that we are rich. Not because of what's associated with riches, but are now connected to the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the one who loves us and wants to help us.
Psalm 84:11 says, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly." That's rich, loving and wise. God has unlimited resources, but He also knows what's best for us. The gifts of parents can indulge and do harm. That's unwise. God doesn't make those mistakes. His riches benefit, which can sometimes mean going without is the best gift. It's not about things.
It's about being in relationship to God which makes us rich. It's His company which blesses us and fills us with joy. The world misses that. I can hear the Beatles song, "and no religon too". They think He's part of the problem. He's actually the solution. They work very hard to alienate Him. The zest of communism is to form a government that excludes Him.
Lord, thank You for Your riches. Thank You that You give us what we need, when we need it. Thank You mainly for You. Your love and company is what makes us rich.