In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul discussed the grace of giving. The Corinthians had vowed to send money to those in need. Almost a year had passed, and it had not been sent. Paul commended them for being spiritual but said they also needed to fulfill their vow. Intentions were good, but they were empty if not fulfilled. In Chapter 8, he said the Macedonians had a great gift of grace by giving when they were in poverty. He said the Corinthians could learn a lesson from them.
He, then, used God’s great gift of Jesus Christ as the ultimate example (8:9). Jesus became poor so that man could become rich. Jesus had all things when in Heaven, but he gave that up so that we might be rich.
Paul closed Chapter 9 with these verses. “And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” This is almost a parallel to Chapter 8:7-9. He was saying that he was confident that the Corinthians would fulfill their vow with the great grace of God in their giving. Further, he emphasized the importance of such graceful giving by giving thanks to God for His great gift of Jesus Christ to man.
Some people do not like to hear sermons on giving. Yet, God gave Jesus to us. The least we can do is to give bountifully back to Him. We do this by giving on the first day of the week in worship. Then, those funds can be used for preaching the Gospel and for benevolence to those in need.
Read your Bible. Learn how to have the gift of the grace of God in benevolence. If any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
