2 Corinthians 8:7

Since you excel in so many ways – in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us – I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

This is a remarkable verse. The two letters that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth lift the lid on a community which was very divided and disorganised in its worship, and in which there were serious disciplinary issues that hadn’t been addressed. However, Paul was able to come up with a long list of their good qualities! I love how encouraging he was to them. It’s easy for any of us to become overwhelmed by the failures of people and churches. It would be a good exercise to think about the most annoying person that you know and write down a list of their positive characteristics. If we concentrate too much on people’s shortcomings, the danger is that we will miss their finer qualities, and our relationship with them will never stand a chance. In just the same way, if we only look at a church’s weaknesses, we may totally overlook the ways in which God has blessed it.

Paul drew attention to the Corinthian church’s great qualities because he wanted to encourage them to be great at giving as well. He was eager for them to make a significant contribution to the collection that he was taking up for the Christians in Judea, who had suffered a major famine. He pointed to the example of the believers in Macedonia who, even though they were very poor, had been incredibly generous. He didn’t want the Corinthians to miss out on the blessing of being generous as well. Because of his love for them, he didn’t want them merely to be good at giving – he wanted them to excel.

If we love people, we are not going to be content with them merely doing well. We will want them to be and to do the best. Let’s keep that thought alive in our minds today as we meet people.

Question

What do you learn from the way in which Paul encouraged the Corinthians to give?

Prayer

Lord God, I thank you that you love me so much that you want me to be the best for you today. Amen