The Gift of Graciousness
Paul ends this letter with an admonition to give to the needs of the Jerusalem saints. Interestingly enough the church there has been tossed into a financial difficulty. This is not an instruction on tithing. It is an instruction on giving to another church far away in a tough financial period.
Two things on that...
First: We need to stop idealizing the community of Acts 2 at the expense of our own times. Yes, they were generous and shared all their resources. But soon after there were complaints about who wasn't getting what they should! Some were pretending to give more than they were. And by the time Paul is writing 1 Corinthians (AD 56?), they're free falling into poverty.
Second: The Bible does not suggest communism is ideal. Never. Communism does not work in the real world and the Jerusalem poverty is case in point. And by the way heaven is not equal. Heaven will be wonderful, but there's no place that suggests we get equal reward for what we have done for the Lord.
But the real reason for this collection was about being gracious. The largely Gentile community of faith in Corinth will now have opportunity to sow into the largely Jewish community of faith in Jerusalem. In doing so, they will model a graciousness all Christians should espouse. The tension of Gentiles being acceptable to God by faith apart from circumcision has an opportunity to be defeated and Jews can see the generosity produced by the Gospel in the lives of those they formerly could not picture associating with.
That's the power of the Gospel. It makes you generous to people you wouldn't normally be generous to! It enables your giving to cross cultural, geographical and political boundaries. After all, if Christ crossed the boundaries of humanity and divinity for us to become rich through His poverty, how can we NOT do the same?
PRAYER:
Father, make us ever more generous. And help us to be givers to those who are least like us physically or culturally because we know in Christ we are no longer divided, we have been brought together and are ONE in Christ. Help me to remember that, and help me to act on it. Amen.
Second: The Bible does not suggest communism is ideal. Never. Communism does not work in the real world and the Jerusalem poverty is case in point. And by the way heaven is not equal. Heaven will be wonderful, but there's no place that suggests we get equal reward for what we have done for the Lord.
But the real reason for this collection was about being gracious. The largely Gentile community of faith in Corinth will now have opportunity to sow into the largely Jewish community of faith in Jerusalem. In doing so, they will model a graciousness all Christians should espouse. The tension of Gentiles being acceptable to God by faith apart from circumcision has an opportunity to be defeated and Jews can see the generosity produced by the Gospel in the lives of those they formerly could not picture associating with.
That's the power of the Gospel. It makes you generous to people you wouldn't normally be generous to! It enables your giving to cross cultural, geographical and political boundaries. After all, if Christ crossed the boundaries of humanity and divinity for us to become rich through His poverty, how can we NOT do the same?
PRAYER:
Father, make us ever more generous. And help us to be givers to those who are least like us physically or culturally because we know in Christ we are no longer divided, we have been brought together and are ONE in Christ. Help me to remember that, and help me to act on it. Amen.
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