Selflessness

Tuesday 16^th May

Read 2 Corinthians 8:8-12

“I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 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.

¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. ¹² For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” (NIVUK)

For Paul, giving is evidence that the gospel has taken root in your life. There are two reasons for this. First, giving demonstrates that the selflessness of Jesus is transforming our selfishness. Jesus need not have given up his greatness, he needn’t have lowered himself to earth, and certainly did not need to die on a cross. Even at the very end, when the abyss opened before him in the garden, the choice was there – have the angels come and tend to him and take the cup away – or drink it to the dregs knowing full well what that meant. The path of selflessness was the path taken and we are all richer for that choice. The desire to give to others, people who you may not even know, let alone meet, is evidence that the selflessness of Jesus has changed you.

The second evidence of gospel transformation is in faithfulness. Having promised something, that is all that is required to follow through on that promise. As Jesus said, ‘Let your yes, be yes’. There are so many reasons and excuses that spring up to prevent one from giving, either time or money, but all of them ultimately reflect selfishness. It is not necessarily that we don’t have the time or the money, it is more that we choose to spend that time and money in a way that pleases us more. The gospel turns that around. Paul is not commanding them, he is persuading them. He is not arguing that if circumstances have indeed become straitened that they need to follow through, but he is asking if that truly is the case? Or have competing priorities arisen?

Giving is firm and sure evidence that the gospel has taken root. That evidence is that we consider others more important than ourselves. What gift of grace is Jesus our Redeemer!