Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Jun 12, 2007 4:57:17 GMT -5
The Gift of Giving
Today's Scripture
"And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. " - 2 Corinthians 8:5
Today's Word
Most of us give to a charity or church offering now and then, but usually it’s nothing more than a little spare change to say we’ve done it. Did you know that in America on average the people who give the most to charities are actually the ones who have the lowest income? If you’re not one of these people, what do they know that you don’t? Giving is a two way street. The greatest gift you can receive is through giving to other people. If you don’t believe me, try it.
In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul is talking in his letter to the Corinthians about the small Macedonian church which was poor, but wanted to help in the offering given to the church in Jerusalem which was having trouble financially as well. They gave very joyfully, without concern for their own situation. In fact, they gave much more than they could afford. They gave themselves to God.
They didn’t have a duty or debt to pay, they simply chose to give. And they didn’t even feel that they had some kind of obligation to do so, they gave joyfully. Their reason for giving was the same reason Christ sacrificed Himself for us. Christ willingly sacrificed His life in a very brutal way and became poor for us. In fact, if you have ever seen Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ”, that was probably a pretty toned down version of what really happened.
Jesus paid the punishment of our sin for us joyfully, simply because He wanted to sacrifice Himself because of His love for us. He had no duty to do what He did. In fact, there is no way we could ever possibly pay the debt that we owe Him. That just gives us even more reason to submit every part of ourselves to His purpose.
Even though this church in Jerusalem just needed money and the small Macedonian church had no duty to give them any, they had no debt to pay; they simply chose to sacrifice themselves for others joyfully, just like Christ did for us. But notice that Paul said they gave their own selves to the Lord, not just money, they gave a lot more. He didn’t command the Corinthians to do the same. He simply reminded them of where that grace comes from, to demonstrate that it all starts from God. His point was to remind them, and us, that that’s what it means to have Christ in you.
God Bless,
T. Scott Morgan
The Daily Blessing
----------
Copyright © 2007 | All Rights Reserved
T. Scott Morgan
source:www.the-daily-blessing.com
Today's Scripture
"And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. " - 2 Corinthians 8:5
Today's Word
Most of us give to a charity or church offering now and then, but usually it’s nothing more than a little spare change to say we’ve done it. Did you know that in America on average the people who give the most to charities are actually the ones who have the lowest income? If you’re not one of these people, what do they know that you don’t? Giving is a two way street. The greatest gift you can receive is through giving to other people. If you don’t believe me, try it.
In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul is talking in his letter to the Corinthians about the small Macedonian church which was poor, but wanted to help in the offering given to the church in Jerusalem which was having trouble financially as well. They gave very joyfully, without concern for their own situation. In fact, they gave much more than they could afford. They gave themselves to God.
They didn’t have a duty or debt to pay, they simply chose to give. And they didn’t even feel that they had some kind of obligation to do so, they gave joyfully. Their reason for giving was the same reason Christ sacrificed Himself for us. Christ willingly sacrificed His life in a very brutal way and became poor for us. In fact, if you have ever seen Mel Gibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ”, that was probably a pretty toned down version of what really happened.
Jesus paid the punishment of our sin for us joyfully, simply because He wanted to sacrifice Himself because of His love for us. He had no duty to do what He did. In fact, there is no way we could ever possibly pay the debt that we owe Him. That just gives us even more reason to submit every part of ourselves to His purpose.
Even though this church in Jerusalem just needed money and the small Macedonian church had no duty to give them any, they had no debt to pay; they simply chose to sacrifice themselves for others joyfully, just like Christ did for us. But notice that Paul said they gave their own selves to the Lord, not just money, they gave a lot more. He didn’t command the Corinthians to do the same. He simply reminded them of where that grace comes from, to demonstrate that it all starts from God. His point was to remind them, and us, that that’s what it means to have Christ in you.
God Bless,
T. Scott Morgan
The Daily Blessing
----------
Copyright © 2007 | All Rights Reserved
T. Scott Morgan
source:www.the-daily-blessing.com