2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Be Still: Heavenly Father, thank you for your loving presence here with me. I welcome you to come and speak to me now. Amen

Read: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

'Since you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.' (v7)

Encounter: I would make a guess that you and I think about the push and pull of money every day. Whether that’s checking a bank account, worrying about paying for shopping or bills, making purchases off and on-line, we can measure our life out in pounds and pence – never quite enough of them. Our finances, our resources are close to our hearts, what we do with them, how we think about them, form a significant part of our lives. 

And yet sometimes we can separate this area from our perceived ‘spiritual’ lives. In 2 Corinthians, Paul shows us that the act of giving is part of daily discipleship, describing it as a spiritual ‘act of grace’. He encourages the church by reminding them how quick they had been to give previously (they were apparently ‘the first’!) but also challenges them to keep going, to not assume they are done and dusted with the act of giving. He writes of the Macedonian church who were living in ‘extreme poverty’ during a season of ‘affliction’. (Historic accounts confirm the Romans conquered them and took their wealth.) And yet despite that, the Macedonians had ‘abundant joy’ which was practically outworked in a ‘wealth of generosity’.

Apply: Generosity, or the act of giving, is an ongoing discipline, not something to engage in once and then feel we have discharged our duty. This ‘act of grace’ is an opportunity to engage continuously with our own finances in the light of God’s overwhelming generosity towards us. 

As we consider our resources, we might begin by asking ourselves questions such as:

If I believe my bank account belongs to God, then how can I best steward it?

How can I listen to him when I make financial decisions?

How have I seen God’s faithfulness in this area?

Devote: Thank God for the resources he has entrusted you with and ask for his wisdom and guidance today to steward them well.