by Eugene West
I love 2 Corinthians 9, especially verses 6-15. This passage is full of helpful admonition on the subject of giving!
In verse 6, we are told that if we sow “sparingly” we will also “reap sparingly”, and if we sow “bountifully” we will also “reap bountifully”. It can’t get any simpler than this. But we often see our
gifts as going into some black hole, instead of into good soil that will bring forth fruit in abundance!
Verse 7 admonishes us to give cheerfully, “not grudgingly or under compulsion”, but just as we have purposed in our heart to give. God wants our giving to come out of the overflow of the joy and the passion that we have for Christ!
Verses 8-10 show us that it is God Himself that provides everything that we have anyways. Who are we to fret, or to hoard what we have been given freely by His grace? God, the ultimate supplier, is He who will “multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your
righteousness”.
Verses 11-14 show us that all of these things (God supplying all our needs as we rely on Him and give generously to one another) work to produce thanksgiving to God from everyone involved! In verse 14 especially we see that the receiver of the gift (the church in Jerusalem) is praying for the giver of the gift (the Corinthians) and is “yearning” for them because of the surpassing grace of God manifested and proved by their generosity and love.
Verse 15 sums it all up beautifully (an understatement if there ever was one!) by reminding us that every gift ultimately comes from and points to Jesus Christ, the giver of all good things.
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”