Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. (2 Cor. 8:10)
The competition was between the boys and girls. The money collected at VBS would go to a missionary work. One day, the boys won, and then the girls, and this cycle repeated until the girls had two wins and the boys two wins. Friday would be the tiebreaker. The girl next to me could hardly wait until the offering, asking numerous times, “When are they gonna take the offering?” Then, I watched as the excited little girl took a $100 bill from her pocket and dropped it in the offering plate, clinching the win for the girls.
That’s how Paul wanted the Corinthians to give—with a desire so strong they couldn’t wait to share their wealth. He was gathering money from the churches to give to the suffering Christians in Jerusalem. The Macedonians had little themselves, but they gave big. Paul knew the Corinthians had the means to give, because the previous year they had given freely, given first, and given with joy. Paul wasn’t commanding them to give, but by comparing them to the Macedonians, he hoped to encourage them to increase their giving.
God loves to see our desire to give. Whether we are giving locally or globally, he is pleased. The more we love God, the more we want to give to the kingdom. Giving demonstrates an outpouring of growth in us.
Feed your desire to give, and you will give.
Pamela J. Kuhn’s husband is a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University. Her favorite word is joy; her favorite place is anywhere that holds books and sells tea.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
