Rich in Faith

"Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?"

The word "chosen" lands hard because of what James has just described. Two men walk into the church's gathering. One wears a gold ring and good clothes, and the other is "a poor man in vile raiment," which means shabby clothes. The church says to the first, "Sit thou here in a good place." To the second it says, "Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool." James does more than call that rude. He asks, "Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?" They had made themselves into a court and handed down a ruling.

Then he asks today's question, and the verb is what makes it sting. All through Scripture, "chosen" is the word for God's choosing. God chose Israel out of the nations, Jesus chose His disciples, and Paul says God "hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world." The church had been choosing too, because that is exactly what their seating plan was. So James puts their choosing next to God's and lets the two sit side by side. You cannot read the verse without noticing that the church and God had picked opposite men out of the same room.

Read the last phrase carefully, because it stops a soft, sentimental misreading. The kingdom is promised "to them that love him." It does not go to everyone who is poor. Being poor is not a badge you earn, and James never says it is. Poverty is simply a place where people learn to depend on God, and depending on Him is what makes faith grow rich.

So here is the promise, and it is about how God judges people. He has already made His choice, and He did not choose the way that room did. No seating plan any church has ever made has changed His list by a single name.

Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 111 is Ashamed to Lift My Face (Ezra 9:6).

All 365 readings in Daily Manna