In the wilderness, the Israelites were the direct recipients of God’s great generosity. God provided manna, which was much needed sustenance. There was no hope of storing it up, but there was enough to live on, and even thrive. God directly cared for the community, enabling it to serve him as a unique and holy people.
The church is a unique creation. Where God once directly provided for his people in an amazing, even miraculous way, he has now prepared us to be his provision. It is something no less amazing, no less miraculous:
I suggest you finish what you started a year ago, for you were the first to propose the idea, and you were the first to begin doing something about it. Now you should carry this project through to completion just as enthusiastically as you began it. Give whatever you can according to what you have. If you are really eager to give, it isn’t important how much you are able to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you don’t have. Of course, I don’t mean you should give so much that you suffer from having too little. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help them. Then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way everyone’s needs will be met. Do you remember what the Scriptures say about this? “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”
2 Corinthians 8:10-152 Corinthians 8:10-15
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
10 A year ago you were the first ones to give, and you gave because you wanted to. So listen to my advice. 11 I think you should finish what you started. If you give according to what you have, you will prove that you are as eager to give as you were to think about giving. 12 It doesn't matter how much you have. What matters is how much you are willing to give from what you have. 13 I am not trying to make life easier for others by making life harder for you. But it is only fair 14 for you to share with them when you have so much, and they have so little. Later, when they have more than enough, and you are in need, they can share with you. Then everyone will have a fair share, 15 . just as the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered too much had nothing left. Those who gathered only a little had all they needed.”
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Give whatever you can according to what you have. This was not an appeal to fund a missionary venture. It wasn’t a call to build a new and bigger building. It was about meeting the needs of the body, offering love and respect to a part of the body that was in desperate need. We sometimes have a very odd view of giving. We struggle to convince people to support our cause, to fund necessary and important work. But Paul didn’t have to resort to guilt. He just reminded them of the loving concern they had already shown.
These believers recognized that they were a community, all part of one another. Generous giving is not about the rules, about desiring to receive a blessing from God, or even meeting a goal. Paul doesn’t even here call them to “sacrifice”! He calls them to simply share. It is about loving people so much that we hold our money and possessions loosely. People are more important!
Do you see yourself as part of something bigger than yourself, even the local body of believers? I’m not talking about denominations or anything of that sort! Do you feel a bond with believers in the next city, the next county, the next state? Is that bond a wishful or prayerful thought, or is it something that results in action? Paul spoke of equality among the body because those who had “stuff” shared with those who did not. We live in a world of clear inequality, even among those within the body of Christ. Many in the church around the world could not hope to have the means we possess. These people are not trying to build huge amphitheaters or fund private jets. They are trying to feed their families and sustain meager housing. Many Christians in our local communities struggle with the same needs – water, food, shelter and health. Are we moved to action, or do we respond by holding tightly to what we have, afraid to lose it?
You have what you have so that you might meet the body’s need. Short and sweet. No one is asking you to live on the street. No one is asking you to be a “martyr”. But God asks you to love the body like he loves the body, generously. He asks for follow through – not just well-meant wishes, but action rooted in love.
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