Think about the crazy acts of generosity you’ve witnessed in other Christians. How often have you been the recipient of someone else’s sacrificial generosity? How have you been blessed or even challenged by someone else’s generosity? I believe that God wants us to be examples of generosity because he has been so generous to us through the cross of Christ.
2 Corinthians 8:1 – 6
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.
In these verses the apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian church to give generously to a fund that had been set up for the purpose of bringing financial relief to other churches that were struggling financially. The Corinthian church had made a pledge to give generously to this fund and Paul was preparing to come and collect that offering so that the churches could continue making disciples through the preaching of the gospel. As we examine these verses we learn that God can use our generosity to motivate generosity in others too.
Think about the crazy acts of generosity you’ve witnessed in other Christians. How often have you been the recipient of someone else’s sacrificial generosity? How have you been blessed or even challenged by someone else’s generosity? I believe that God wants us to be examples of generosity because he has been so generous to us through the cross of Christ.
Paul tells the Corinthian church that the Macedonian churches were modeling what it means to give generously. He says that the Macedonian churches didn’t let “severe affliction” or “extreme poverty” become an excuse to become selfish or irresponsible with the little wealth they did have. He says they seized the opportunity for the gospel to shine through their “abundance of joy” which then “overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part”.
Paul is describing what it looks like to model generous giving despite the trials, despite the hardships; despite the financial poverty and despite the suffering we face in this life. Modeling generous giving means that you must resist the temptation of self-preservation. You must pursue opportunities to be more and more generous in your giving.
Paul explains that the Macedonian churches “gave according to their means… and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints”. The Christians in Macedonia gave generously in proportion to (or a percentage of) their income even though they were extremely poor and in fact Paul tells the Corinthians that the Macedonians gave “beyond their means of their own accord”.
This wasn’t a competition to see who could give more. It was an opportunity to give generously. The Macedonians didn’t give the leftovers of their irresponsible living. They carefully planned how they would spend their money so that they could be generous. And it’s not just that they gave over and above ten percent of their income. They also came to Paul “begging earnestly for the favor of taking part” in this opportunity to give generously. Modeling generous giving means we should earnestly look for ways to be more generous.
When you give generously like the Macedonians did you do what’s not expected. Paul says that when the Macedonian churches gave generously it was “not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us”. When you model generous giving it destroys other people’s expectations. Most people do not expect poor, afflicted or impoverished people to give generously because we often think that the poor among us don’t have as much to offer in terms of wealth.
But when God’s grace is poured out among a group of people it results in their categories of generosity being rearranged. When people give themselves to the Lord first because he has generously given himself to them and then they follow Christ’s example of generous giving, the categories of other people’s expectations get shattered. This model of generous giving that we see in the churches of Macedonia further prompted the apostle Paul to urge Titus to finish what “he had started” among the Corinthians and “complete among” them “this act of grace also”.
Paul had left Titus in charge of the Corinthian church. One of his responsibilities was to oversee the regular collection and deposit of their offerings into the relief fund. And this collection was seen as an act of grace. Your generosity is an act of grace. Your generosity is just one way that you can physically act out the very same grace you’ve been given in the cross of Christ.
When we give generously we actually serve not only to pay the bills practically for ministry but we also serve to motivate the generous giving of other people into the ministry of the gospel. God can use your generosity to motivate generosity in others too. That’s my prayer for us today… I pray that God would help us to become a church family of generous people who invest in the advancement of the gospel with our time, our talent and our treasure.