“We serve God whether people honour us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.”
2 Corinthians 6:8-10 NLT
There seems to be a paradox here: heartache, poverty, and a lack of material things are compared with a life overflowing with joy, generosity, and abundance. A dilemma that faces all Christians as they go about their life of faith in a hostile and evil world. From a worldly perspective, this doesn’t add up. How can someone be poor and yet enrich others? How can someone own nothing and yet have everything? And to cap it all, be full of joy?
Earlier in 2 Corinthians 6:4-5, Paul explained the heartache he and his colleagues were enduring. He wrote “ … We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food”. But regardless of the heartache, Paul wrote that he always had joy. Paul had an eternal perspective, as we read in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” And that is true, because if we tried to put a marker on the timeline labelled “Eternity”, it would be so small as to be invisible. So the use of the word “vastly” becomes something of an understatement. That hope within him filled Paul with unquenchable joy – heartache perhaps now, but joy forever. Did that mean Paul went about the days of his life laughing and seemingly detached from the reality of his existence? Absolutely not, but there was something within him that kept his eyes focused on the horizon where the glory that awaited him illuminated the sky. Because of that, for Paul, the spiritual riches began with a joy that circumstances cannot steal. Paul’s joy flowed from his reconciliation with God, from knowing Christ, and from eternity secured.
Paul often lacked materially, being without food or warm clothing. In 2 Corinthians 11:27, we read about his privations: “I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm”. Occasionally, Paul worked with his hands to generate some income. “Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was” (Acts 18:3). But in it all, Paul’s main focus was to give “spiritual riches to others”, a great treasure that he carried around within himself, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7). What is this treasure? Not silver and gold, of course, because there is nothing spiritual about precious metals, but qualities such as the Gospel, reconciliation with Christ, and the knowledge of Him as he went about his business of giving what he had to others, anyone who would listen. There is that great, much-quoted verse in Acts 3:6, “But Peter said, ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” That is “spiritual riches” in action. A believer may lack wealth in the bank, but in Christ, they possess riches that can transform eternity.
Paul wrote, “We own nothing, and yet we have everything”. This statement makes sense only when the earthly and spiritual worlds are compared. Paul claimed poverty in one and great wealth in the other. But the two kingdoms are mutually exclusive. Paul knew and experienced that a believer cannot be in both. Jesus said to His disciples, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36). The world measures possession by accumulation. The Kingdom measures possession by inheritance. Paul wrote this to the Philippians, “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour” (Philippians 3:20). From that perspective, we pilgrims also share in the “spiritual riches”, the spiritual treasure that we are accumulating safely in God’s Heavenly bank. Jesus said, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-21). In these days of rising living costs, we can be reassured that the treasure we value is beyond such worldly pressures.
Paul’s life challenges modern believers. We often equate blessing with comfort, but Paul equated blessing with Christ. With Paul, we may not feel wealthy. We may face difficulty. We may experience seasons of heartache. Yet if we belong to Jesus, we carry eternal treasure within us. We think again of the paradox that underpins the life of Christians. The world may see lack, but Heaven sees inheritance. The world may see poverty, but God sees sons and daughters who possess everything that truly matters.
Dear Heavenly Father. You have “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ”. Help us to continue to deposit our spiritual riches with You in Heaven, as we are obedient to You and Your Son, Jesus, in all that we do. We love You and praise You today, expressing our humble thanks for such a wonderful salvation. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 