“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed”
(2 Corinthians 9:8, NASB95)
In the above passage, taken from the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Christians in Corinth, he affirms his belief in God’s ability to sufficiently provide monetarily so that His people would have an abundance for their giving to the good works before them. In the previous chapter, Paul placed before the Corinthians the example of the churches of Macedonia who, despite “a great ordeal of affliction” and “deep poverty,” demonstrated “their abundance of joy” which “overflowed in the wealth of their liberality” (2 Corinthians 8:2). He went on to point out that these churches, “according to their ability, and beyond their ability, gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints” (vv. 3-4). While the abundant gift of the Macedonian churches exceeded Paul’s expectations, it happened because “they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God” (v. 5). However, such giving, according to Paul, must not be done “grudgingly or under compulsion,” but as a result of what “each one . . . has purposed in his heart . . . for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Our Mission Sunday is one month from this past Lord’s Day! Two weeks ago, our elders challenged us with an ambitious goal of twenty-five thousand dollars. All monies received on Sunday, May 17th of this year will be applied toward the various missions which we as a congregation support. It falls to each of us now to pray and purposefully plan concerning our own giving on that particular Lord’s Day. Some will be able to give out of their abundance while others will give out of their poverty. Some have already done the math. Twenty-five families could give one thousand dollars each or fifty-families could give five hundred dollars each, or one hundred families could give two hundred fifty dollars each, thus reaching our goal. However, some may give far in excess of this while others may give their “two mites” which is more than the rest (Mark 12:42-44). Either way, each of us should give cheerfully, knowing that we are giving back to the Lord that which He already owns and has allowed us to manage while living here upon this earth. In so doing, God will receive the glory and His kingdom will continue to grow!
