4/2 Through the Bible in Devotions

John 12

“For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.” (v. 8)

I have said it often, and no doubt will say it again, that Jesus spoke more about the poor than any other group or class of people in the entire Bible. For this reason though, many have termed the Word as the “poor mans Gospel” and thought it to be for the common man and not necessarily for the rich and famous. Royalty especially had a problem with accepting this “poor man’s Gospel” because they would have had to stoop to the level of Commoners and associate with the lower classes. This type of caste system has pervaded societies throughout the world for many, many generations, but God has still reigned supreme in the hearts and lives of His people. The point that Jesus was making here though was that they could help the poor at any time, but Him they only had for awhile. They needed to capitalize on the situation, and take time to honor the Lord. It is different with us, we have Jesus with us all time, as we do the poor, and can worship Him any time we choose to.

Sometimes we let the things of this world interfere with the worship and service of the Lord. Money ought not to be a factor at all in the things of God, but, unfortunately it plays a major part in the success or failure of the church today. Helping the poor is, of course, a noble and worthy cause, but serving the Lord is the greater of the two. We know that the two do not conflict, but in this passage there was a little confusion as to what was to be prioritized as the most immediate and importune work. I do not like to see “ministries” that cost a lot of money to take advantage of. Many men today have these money making ministries, and no doubt they mean well because they have expenses incurred, but whatever happened to making it easy for the poor to take advantage of the graces that they are selling? We see many good books being written today, about many good, Bible principles, but what if you can’t afford the book? Then the teaching is not reaching the poor. Many seminars are similar, if you cannot pay a cover charge, or buy the tape, you do not get the blessing of it. We need to revamp the system and reach the poor while honoring God in the process. I think that to offer these things freely is the best way to do it; it honors God, and helps everyone, and not only those who can afford it. Someone will say “But I have to make a living”, and there is nothing wrong with making a living, but don’t you think that God knew about that when He put the idea in your heart to do that certain and special ministry? What do you think He would prefer? We need to make it easy for the poor to learn the great truths of God too, thereby not leaving anyone out of our “ministry”.