Understanding God's Heart For The Poor预览

The Privilege of Giving to Help Others

While Paul traveled, the poor people in Jerusalem were never far from his mind. After Pentecost, the church saw tremendous growth; however, this caused physical hardship for the Christians in Jerusalem. 

The Christians were ostracized by Jewish society for following Jesus. It didn’t help that the country was experiencing a famine. The growing church learned to share what little it had with one another. And Paul, having seen their hardship, was zealous to encourage the wider Christian body to support them.

In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells the church about the Macedonian Christians who, having experienced such great joy in knowing the Lord, pleaded for the opportunity to give support to the poor in Jerusalem, despite their own extreme poverty. Far from being in a position to give comfortably, they gave at great cost to themselves.

Reflection

Paul encouraged the Corinthians to do like the Macedonians, suggesting it will be a test of their sincerity.

That is a challenge each one of us can consider. Am I giving generously to support those who have so much less than myself? Would someone examining my giving versus my bank balance conclude that my faith is sincere? 

Prayer

Father, thank you that Jesus, though he was rich, for my sake became poor, so that through his poverty I might become rich. Help me to grow in generosity towards those who have less than myself. Amen.