Are you needing some Wealth?

Read II Corinthians 8:7-15 when you get the chance.

I love these verses and it's such a beautiful reminder to step in and share with someone who may be lacking.

In the context, Paul is encouraging this church to be gracious when giving an offering. He goes on to share that they are very abundant in faith, knowledge and love, but that he wants to encourage them to have Grace in the idea of "Giving", more.

In this church, some people were poor and couldn't give much and some people were rich and were able to give more. Paul goes on to challenge them to create an equality of the giving in the church. If one can be the strength for another who is today, maybe the weak could be the strength for the strong tomorrow.

 Verse 15 threw out this saying that states "He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that had gathered little had no lack". This is to say that a rich person may have lots but actually not too much if they're willing to give from their much. And a poor person may have a very little but not too little if they're receiving from the rich. This creates a balance in giving and shows grace!

Paul says this is not a burden on a rich person, and ultimately tests the genuineness of our love of Jesus.

But what really stood out to me was this verse about Jesus that basically takes this physical and practical context of gracious giving to a spiritual mentality! It shows us that in order to even give graciously physically we have to know why, spiritually!

Anything we do physically for Jesus has to be a spiritual position of the heart first!

Verse 9 is so beautiful! It states that Jesus who was rich came down to be poor, so that from his poorness we can become rich.

This truly breaks my heart! When I read this verse, I don't see that it's saying Jesus left all of his "money" so that we can have "money". No! It's more beautiful, more eternal, and deeper than that.

Why would Jesus leave money so that we could have more money? No!  Money will pass away, but the treasures of heaven will not pass away. They are eternal. They are things that can't be bought. It is true wealth.

Jesus left the treasures of Heaven, to become poor, so that through His poorness, we can obtain the treasures of Heaven. Not the treasures of this Earth. Jesus left His Life in Heaven to die on earth, so that through His death, we could obtain Eternal Life. Jesus left His righteousness in Heaven to become sin on earth, so that through His punishment of Sin, we might be made righteous. Jesus left His Joy in Heaven to suffer pain on earth, so that through His pain, we might obtain His Joy. Jesus left His freedom in Heaven to be put in bondage by us, so that through His bondage, we might have His Freedom. Jesus left His Rest in Heaven to become a servant for us, so that through His working service we might have His Rest.

There's so much more!! This is real wealth!

What if we were more gracious to give more of the wealth that we've been given from Jesus to those that may lack?

This creates equality for the church of Christ.

If I am blessed with the wealth of faith and someone has a little bit of faith, I can share that faith with one who has little. And if one has little faith, it doesn't have to be too little if I'm sharing with them some of the faith that I have.

You may be a person with much wealth from Jesus today. I encourage you to Give Graciously to someone who is lacking.

You may be a person who is lacking in wealth from Jesus today. Maybe you're need of His Joy or Peace. I want to encourage you that there is Rest in knowing that your brother and sister in Christ have been called by God's Word to share their wealth with you!

Jesus is always looking for ways to extend Rest to us by freeing us from bondage and filling us where we lack!

This is so beautiful!

How has this encouraged you today?