satisfaction, laughter, and great reward in heaven. The point is not that people are saved through poverty or their own pain. The point is that people who have few earthly treasures and who have suffered a lot are less likely to view life on earth as paradise and more likely to be interested in the promises of the gospel. In Jesus’ story about Lazarus in Luke chapter 16, it was not Lazarus’ poverty that carried him to Abraham’s embrace but his faith; his suffering stripped away all the comfortable