Day 41

 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ⁹ ‘I KNOW YOUR TRIBULATION AND YOUR POVERTY (BUT YOU ARE RICH), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Rev 2:8-9 NASB.

This world has rich, rich people, rich poor people, poor, poor people and poor rich people. Commentators widely agree that the poverty in this passage is literal, while the riches are spiritual. The Smyrnians were poor in this world’s goods, but they were rich in the goods of the gospel, rich in the things of the Spirit. In practical terms, there is a big difference between poverty and riches. People who are born rich have an entirely different mentality than the average person. For most of us, nearly every decision we make is affected by financial limitations. We choose inexpensive cafes for lunch. We buy our clothes at K mart or Target instead of boutique stores. In our free time we go to a public beach instead of a tropical vacation at Hamilton Island. Every decision we make is constrained by our lack of unlimited money.

But the church at Smyrna discovered a different kind of riches, a kind that the rich rarely attain (Matt 19:24). Those who know Jesus are liberated from enslavement to money. They realize that the true riches of life are found in loving relationships. To have a clean conscience, to be able to forgive and to be forgiven is to be truly rich. It is far better to know the Word of God than to be able to rush from one empty round of entertainment to another.

The truest of all riches are found in Christ, not in material wealth. Smyrna means “sweet smelling.” Prophetically, it was the era of Martyrdom From about the end of the first century to 313AD when the tide was turned by the “conversion” of the Emperor Constantine.