Not Too Much, Not Too Little
II Corinthians 8:9–15
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that as a matter of fairness, your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
The Apostle John said we love because God loved us first (I John 4:19), in the same way, we are capable of generosity because God gave to us first, the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the universe (Rev 13:8). Jesus was that ultimate giver, may we begin to reflect on His gift of Himself: “He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death - and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God lifted Him high and honored Him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth - even those long ago dead and buried - will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that He is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father (Phil 2:6–11). God will provide, that’s the faith of father Abraham (Gen 22:8), and God did provide even in the barren wilderness, “the Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as they needed (Exod 16:17–18).” Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said “if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other”, this I think is something we can learn from the playbook of the early Church, they loved God, they loved each other, they shared with each other: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the LORD Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need (Acts 4:32–35). Let us remind ourselves of God’s love and generosity in Christ in the coming weeks as we remember His sacrifice that in His poverty we are made rich (v. 9).
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that as a matter of fairness, your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
The Apostle John said we love because God loved us first (I John 4:19), in the same way, we are capable of generosity because God gave to us first, the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the universe (Rev 13:8). Jesus was that ultimate giver, may we begin to reflect on His gift of Himself: “He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of Himself that He had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death - and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God lifted Him high and honored Him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth - even those long ago dead and buried - will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that He is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father (Phil 2:6–11). God will provide, that’s the faith of father Abraham (Gen 22:8), and God did provide even in the barren wilderness, “the Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as they needed (Exod 16:17–18).” Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said “if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other”, this I think is something we can learn from the playbook of the early Church, they loved God, they loved each other, they shared with each other: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the LORD Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need (Acts 4:32–35). Let us remind ourselves of God’s love and generosity in Christ in the coming weeks as we remember His sacrifice that in His poverty we are made rich (v. 9).
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