Revelation 2:8-9

This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive: “I know about your suffering and your poverty – but you are rich!”

These words introduce the letter to the church in Smyrna. There was no surprise that the first letter went to Ephesus – it was viewed as the most influential of the cities. However, Smyrna was a close rival. It was a busy commercial centre with its own well-protected port. It had been founded long ago as a Greek colony, but in about 600BC it was largely destroyed by an invading army. Hundreds of years later, it was reconstructed, and it became a finely planned city with broad straight avenues and pavements. It was truly a city that had come back to life, so it was more than appropriate that they received a message from the Lord who had passed from death to life.

The Lord’s message was that he totally understood where they were coming from. He knew just how much they had suffered and how grindingly poor they were. The word used for suffering describes someone who is crushed under a heavy weight. The word used here to describe their poverty does not refer to having nothing extra, but having nothing at all. They were in a bad way, but the risen Lord assured them that he knew all about it, and he also knew that they were rich. They might not have had riches in worldly terms, but they had real wealth: the Holy Spirit and the blessing of faith.

We are continually bombarded with images of human riches. Advertisers have a very clear idea of what it means to be rich, and it has to do with the latest technology, fast cars, grand property, expensive holidays and the like. None of these things are necessarily bad, but they have nothing to do with real wealth. The treasures that last are the ones which only the Lord can give to us, and the Christians of Smyrna needed to look beyond their suffering and poverty to see and enjoy their real wealth.

Question

In what ways do you consider yourself to be rich?

Prayer

Loving God, thank you that you know my situation completely and that you show me how to be really rich. Amen