Good morning! This morning we will continue our reading in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 with the Apostle Paul encouraging the church to continue to give.

Bible Verse – 2 Corinthians 8:6-15

“⁶ So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. ⁷ Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us^[c]—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

⁸ I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.

⁹ You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

¹⁰ Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. ¹¹ Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. ¹² Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. ¹³ Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. ¹⁴ Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. ¹⁵ As the Scriptures say,

“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”^[d]

Reflection

Apostle Paul ministered to the church on the grace of giving. He shared what the church did in the past, what other churches were doing, and he wanted to encourage the church to continue to be faithful in their giving.

I appreciate what Apostle Paul shared on the equality of giving, “¹⁴ Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.”

Sisters and brothers, the church is not a corporation where funds come in every day or month, churches heavily rely on members and donors to support the mission of Christ through the church. Each church activity, light turned on, time the toilet/commode flushes and you are able to wash your hands in the church building it is because of generous givers. There are other ways many gracious givers have given to their local church, ministries, and missions by volunteering, etc. While Apostle Paul was focused on giving to help the church and people, we too should focus on the church and equipping people in their faith, in their knowledge of Christ, their enthusiasm to be with other believers, and receiving genuine love from the church and us. Continue to give graciously as you can through finances and your time. People in this world need to know Christ – help them.

Continue to pray and ask God how/which way He desires for you to be a gracious giver.

Prayer

Father God, thank you! Thank you for being faithful and for loving us unconditionally. You are everything that we need. You continue to provide and make a way for us. Lord, continue to work in us. Continue to increase our faith, bless us with gifts to be used by you to advance the kingdom, increase our knowledge of you and our understanding of your love for us. Lord, increase our ability to give and give us a heart to give of our finances and/or our time. Lord, let us see the need and soft our hearts to help wherever you call us to.

Lord, continue to transform us to be a blessing and not a hindrance. Lord, continue to heal those who are recovering from surgery, illness, treatments, and/or trauma. Lord, comfort those who are grieving today. Open employment opportunities for those who are in need of a healthy workplace and/or income to support their families. Lord, help those who are struggling with toxic work environments, co-workers, bosses, and/or projects. Lord, cover them and help keep them mentally well. Show them how to navigate through those situations as they lean on you. Lord, you know every need of each reader. Lord, will you answer their prayers and continue to show them how gracious, merciful, faithful, and loving you are. Help us all feel your presence today. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!

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