And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Corinthians 8:1
“The highest use of wealth is in the acknowledgement that God has given it that, through it, we may earn larger spiritual dividends. It affords us opportunities to be rich in good works. Money can be used to relieve the distressed, to feed the starving, to alleviate pain and provide medical care and, best of all, it can provide for the proclamation of the gospel of God’s manifold love and redeeming grace. The Christian who has allowed the grace of God to take hold on his [or her] heart is thereby made gracious. He is liberal and generous and ready to distribute his wealth for the glory of God and the uplift of humanity.”
Charles A. Trentham in Studies in Timothy (Nashville: Convention Press, 1959) 81.
God’s grace moves us to grow in giving and when we do, in the words of Trentham, we earn “larger spiritual dividends” than any possible earthly returns.
I am taking today and tomorrow off to rest and observe 32 years of marriage to Jenni. We will invest some of the resources God has supplied along with hotel points to celebrate.
When we pour God’s resources into mission and memories we show love. We say that you matter and that you are important to me and to God.
How might you use some of the resources you have today to communicate to someone that they are special, that they are not forgotten, that God loves them and you do too?
This use of money reaps “larger spiritual disciplines” because God designed money to be put to work as our slave. When we hold on to it, we become a slave to money.
Embracing this perspective is only possible when God’s grace is at work on our hearts. May God’s grace help each of us grow as generous distributors.