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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
November 29
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Today's Pathway:
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II Corinthians 8:7-9
- Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
- I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
- For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
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In chapter 8 Paul has been discussing the offering that the churches were taking up to meet the needs of the believers in Jerusalem. In the preceding verses he told the Corinthians about the sacrificial giving of the Macedonians, and used their example in an attempt to motivate them. In verse 7 he compliments his readers because they are abounding in many Biblical qualities, including their love for Paul. He then encourages them to abound in the area of sacrificial giving as well. In verse 8 he makes it clear that he is not commanding the church to do this. This was a "freewill" offering. In other words, it was to be given because of love, not because of law. Something that is done only because of the demands of a commandment may not come from a heart that fulfills the Lord's teaching that we should,
"love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself" (Luke 10:27).
In fact, Paul writes at the end of verse 8 that the Corinthians' giving would be a proof of the sincerity of their love. The word translated "sincerity" carries the idea of "legitimacy". It is easy to say that we love someone, but the proof is in our behavior towards that person. If asked, the Corinthian church members might very well have said that they loved their Jewish brethren, but the evidence of that would be found in their reaching out to meet their need. John asked,
"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (I John 3:17).
The answer to that question is obvious.
In verse 9 Paul gives the ultimate example of sacrificial love. Jesus Christ, the Lord of the universe, the One of Whom Paul wrote,
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him" (Colossians 1:16).
Jesus Christ was willing to leave it all to come to Earth. He did not come with great riches. Thoralf Gilbrant explained it this way:
"He experienced His birth in abject poverty. His mother bore Him attended only by Joseph. She lay on a straw-covered dirt floor of a stable. His only crib was the feeding trough for the animals who shared the place of His birth, which was probably a cave stable in Bethlehem. During His stay on earth He never owned a place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). When He came to the end of His earthly life the only provisions He could offer for the care of His mother came through the kindness He requested of a friend with His dying breath (John 19:26-27). Before they crucified Him they stripped Him of the meager clothing He wore. Soldiers gambled to see who would get the garments of pitifully small value He left behind (Mark 15:24). In death they buried Him in a borrowed tomb (Matthew 27:60). Others provided the customary burial cloths and spices (John 19:38-42). Thus He lived and died owning nothing of this world's goods."
Jesus went from an eternal past of possessing everything to a human life in a world where he had virtually nothing. Why did He do it? So that through His death, burial, and resurrection He could provide eternal life for those fleshly hell-bound sinners who would choose to believe on Him and receive Him. Because He was willing to give up His heavenly riches for the poverty of an earthly existence, men and women, through faith, can someday leave the spiritual poverty of this world to enjoy the rich blessings of Heaven.
Two questions: Have you received the riches of salvation that were made available to you through the poverty of Christ? If so, are you allowing His example of sacrifice to motivate you to sacrifice for others?
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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