What does it mean to be poor? As a boy I loved Slurpy’s. I used to ride my bike up to the Dart-In to purchase my all-time favorite, black-cherry mixed with lime. It was delicious. I will never forget one such excursion though. One day after mowing lawns a Slurpy sounded good so I peddled feverishly to my Slurpy haven. I whipped up my customary blend and then stuck around in the back to drink this cold concoction down.
You see I liked to drink a lot, you know to make sure I had a good mix, before I actually went to the counter to purchase my ice smooth drink. As I loitered in the store taking my time, enjoying my Slurpy something began to gnaw on me. I checked my back pocket and then my front. I felt around on my entire body like that would somehow make my billfold appear, you know the Velcro one with those silly pictures of classmate friends. I had no money. I had been standing around the Dart-In enjoying a Slurpy I couldn’t afford. I was poor.
Somewhere there exists a convenience store video of a little boy as he literally darts out of a Dart-In convenient store. Maybe there is an America’s Most wanted with the footage, I don’t know because I never looked back after that day. I new what it meant to be poor, to not have what I needed.
You see that is what poor is. Jesus introduced His ministry some 2,000 years ago by quoting Isaiah 61 and with those words he revealed that He had come to bring good news to the poor. I was poor that day, very poor. What would have been good news? Good news would have been the knowledge that someone was going to cover my Slurpy binge.
The word that is translated poor is defined as those lacking in anything. What news is good to those who have nothing? Jesus said I came to bring just that. I think people often don’t realize when they are poor. Whenever one thinks if only I had something more they are saying they are poor. What would the Good News be? That we didn’t need anymore?
The good News isn’t just Good News because it takes our sins away. It is good news because we don’t have to be poor anymore. The next time someone starts to talk about what they are missing ask them if they would like some good news, I know I could have used some that day in the Dart-In.
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