Morning & Evening Daily Devotional Reading– December 24

by Charles H. Spurgeon, Revised and Edited by William C. Neff

“He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor.”

—2 Corinthians 8:9

The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted, but, even though He was rich, for our benefit, He became poor.” A rich Christian can not truly commune with his poorer brothers unless he is actively attending to their needs. And it’s this same principle that makes it impossible for our Divine Lord to have fellowship with us without giving to us out of His own abounding wealth, becoming poor to make us rich. Had He remained upon His throne of glory, and had we continued in the ruins of sin without receiving His salvation, our communion together would have been impossible.

Therefore, in order to establish communion with us, it was necessary that God, the rich Landowner, should give of his estate to his poor relatives; that the righteous Savior should give to His sinning brothers of His own perfection; and that we, the poor and guilty, should receive fully from God’s grace. By this giving and receiving, God descends from the heights, and we ascend from the depths, and, therefore, we are able to embrace each other in true and hearty fellowship.

This is the enduring truth of Christmas: Poverty must be enriched before it can commune with wealth; the sinner’s guilt must be vanquished with the riches of Christ’s righteousness; Jesus must clothe His people in His own garments before He can receive them into His palace, embracing them in close fellowship. This is God’s great love!” For your sake the Lord Jesus “became poor” so that He might lift you up into communion with Himself. [M&E]