by Becky
LINK: 2 Corinthians 9
BACKGROUND
Paul continues to write about giving financially. The believers in Corinth had said that they would contribute to the needs of the church in Jerusalem, whose members were nearing starvation. Paul reminds them of this promise and goes on to encourage them to give cheerfully. Apparently attitude matters!
REFLECTION
Giving is an act of worship when done willingly and cheerfully. We give because God has given to us. When we give we recognize that what we have is from Him. It's not ours. Trusting Him enough to give what we often think of as our security is like planting seed. We will reap a harvest of righteousness!
About a year and a half ago my husband was in a serious accident. He was hospitalized for over a month and bedridden longer than that. Believers gathered round us and gave of themselves. Friends from our church brought meals to us. The Chinese believers that we'd had Bible studies with did that, too and also gave us gifts of money. I have not often been on the receiving end of gifts like that. I haven't needed to be. But I learned, in practical ways, the truth of this passage. Those gifts did result in praise to God. I gave thanks for those believers who gave sacrificially, with willing hearts. Their gifts helped me to see God's love and grace even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
APPLICATION
How do you view your money? Your savings? Your stuff? Do you think of them as yours or do you recognize that they are God's? I am convinced that if we lived as if all that we had came from Him, we would make a difference in this world. It is so easy to cling to financial strategies and plans for security, rather than to the LORD.
When you hear of another believer in need do you consider what you can do to help, even if it's inconvenient? Then do you help them?
God gave His life for us. The least we can do is give Him ours.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for the indescribable gift of yourself! Help us to give to others (and so to you) cheerfully and willingly.
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