2 Corinthians 8:13-15 

¹³Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

Free Time

         What do you normally do in your free time? Do you sing, play guitar, write songs, dance, paint, cross stitch? How about gardening, fishing or baking? Did you ever try baking bread? If it was your first time to bake bread, possibly, you searched online or followed baking influencers.

         I tried baking bread that are delicious to my taste. I tried following several recipes published online. Sometimes, I religiously followed the instructions. Other times, I added other ingredients. I also tweaked the timing when mixing. And I regulated the baking time until ready to eat.

         Most often, I follow my style and design of bread I baked. But when I forgot or add more ingredients than required, the bread I baked won’t be good. Failure usually happens when I intentionally followed my instincts.

         When we intentionally follow our instinct, the spiritual result that the Lord expects to happen could fail. God gave us instructions to follow so that we behave according to his grand design for godly children. How do we interpret and explain to children what Christ warned in Matthew 7:21?

         ²¹Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

         God’s will is revealed in his commandments. Instinctively, we resist and disobey God, why? We cannot grasp the benefits of obedience to God. Human mindset is limited. We must pray to be inspired by the Holy Spirit to gladly follow his commands. Together, let’s seriously meditate on what Christ announced in John 13:15-17, ¹⁵I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

         Christ exemplified how children of God behave. He promised we will be blessed, if we follow his examples. We trust and obey him as our Lord. He’s our Master and we’re his messengers. We tell potential believers our adventure with him. But we must pray to be empowered by his Holy Spirit.

         The Holy Spirit empowers us when we prayerfully appeal for his help.

1.  Appeal

         ¹³Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 

         Previously, Paul appealed for the prosperous Corinthians to share their abundance to the needy Judean believers. As Christians, we also care for other children of God who are in need. God won’t force us to support his family. By his grace, the Holy Spirit produces joy and peace in us so that we may gladly share our abundance and support believers who’re in need.

         The desire to give gladly is an act of God’s grace. We enthusiastically participate in the service of giving when the Holy Spirit inspires us. We do not sense any pressure of giving. We gladly give our offerings to God.

Abel vs Cain

         Together, let’s observe how the Lord responded when Abel and Cain gave their offerings in Genesis 4:3-5, ³Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. ⁴And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

         The Lord favored Abel’s offering. Abel offered the best from his flock. Abel practically proved his great respect to the Lord. In contrast, God was dismayed by Cain’s offering. God didn’t even glance at Cain’s offering. Cain brought some of the fruits but no citation that his offering came from his plants. Practically, it affirmed that Cain had little or no respect of the Lord.

         Cain was very angry and downcast after his offering did not please the Lord. It exposed that he was not cheerful about giving offering in the first place. Together, let’s seriously reflect on what 2 Corinthians 9:7 says.

         ⁷Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

         Have you proven if God loves you? Can we sense it when God loves us? Yes! The Holy Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We have composure despite struggles. We appreciate all circumstances with peaceful gladness. Cain had no love, no joy, no peace, no self-control. He’s angrily downcast.

         Anyway, God’s grace became obvious among the Corinthians. When Apostle Paul challenged them to share their abundance they accepted it gladly. They shared their abundance to the Judean believers for the sake of equality and not to make them suffer. There was severe famine in Judea because of war. But the economy in Corinth may not had been affected by war just yet. So, they had abundant supply to share with needy believers.

2.  Abundance

            ¹⁴At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality,

         If the Corinthians had plenty, what supply did they need? What can the Judean believers supply to the Corinthians who had abundance? The livelihood in Judea was interrupted by war. But, they had plenty of time to pray. They prayed that the Corinthians will prosper more greatly so that they have more abundance to share. Surely the Judean believers praised and thanked God for the generous supply that the Corinthians sent them.

         Let’s reflect on what Apostle Paul concluded in 2 Corinthians 9:11. ¹¹You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

         Take note of that. Praising God with gratitude practically proves our trust that he granted our prayers. The Lord wants all people to trust him. He wants us to experience more of his love and testify about it. Whenever we pray for more blessings, the Lord wants us to share our abundance, why?

         Recipients will praise and thank God for the abundance we shared.

         All of us are encouraged to thank God in Psalm 107:8-9, ⁸Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, ⁹for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

         Thirst and hunger pragmatically expose a desire to be satisfied. We want to be satisfied. We search for contentment. We yearn for eternal gratification. We long for approval. We exert our best effort but our best is not enough to fill the longing of our heart. Someone suggests that there is endless abyss deep within us. Only God can fill the deep void of emptiness in us. It declares in Ecclesiastes 3:9-11, ⁹What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

         Surely, we work to earn money. If we have sufficient fund, we want to go wherever our feet lead us. We want to hear beautiful songs. We want to watch our favorite players play their games. We want to see the wonders of the world. We want to travel where our friends and relatives have visited. We want to taste the best food from different places. We want to try new adventures. Everyone works so hard just to sustain human cravings.

         How should we interpret and explain to children Ecclesiastes 6:7?

         ⁷Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied.

         No satisfaction is natural. Envy is natural. We want to explore what others explored. We ask: “How about me? When can I experience such wonderful adventure they had?” Then we plan. We prepare and go and try what they experienced. After we experienced and eventually explored what others explored, could we ever sense some sort of satisfaction?

         On earth, we experience partial contentment only. But only God can truly satisfy us. The Lord declares in Jeremiah 31:14, ¹⁴I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty.

         What was the source of income for priests. They rely upon offerings to the Lord. The tithes of God and offerings of his people were allocated to the priests. God blessed his people more, his portion increased more, and supplies for priests increased. The Lord blessed his people abundantly and filled them with his bounty, and his priests were satisfied with abundance.

         How should we interpret and explain Philippians 4:19? ¹⁹And God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

         The Philippians regularly sent their support to Apostle Paul and his mission team. The term “And” suggests that God supplied their needs to support Paul and his team willingly. Many believers regularly send financial support to mission ministries of their choice abroad. Indeed, God faithfully supplied all their needs so that they have financial adequacy to spare.

3.  Adequacy

                        ¹⁵as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

         They’ve got sufficient adequacy of supplies. Everyone had enough supply. Not too much, not too little. When God blesses us to have adequate supplies, he wants us to remember his needy children. If your supplies are short, you may have abundant time to pray. Someone said, “Time is gold.”

         We should invest more time praying for others at Prayer Meeting.

         Christ is coming sooner. Praying for salvation of loved ones is urgent.

         It urges us in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, ¹I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ²for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

         The Judean believers were short of supplies at that time. But Paul expected them to have sufficient time praying for churches abroad to be more prosperous and have abundance to share and send them supplies.

         God blesses us abundantly not to hoard or stockpile but, that we can support his mission projects. And recipients of mission supports will praise and thank God. Aside from abundant prayers and finances, what adequacy do you have? You may have abundance of wisdom or skill you can share.

         If you are skillful in cooking or baking, share your talent during VBS. If you are skillful in auto-mechanic, advise those who have no idea about car maintenance. If you have abundant flowers or veggies, share with your neighbors. Who knows, your generosity might inspire them to seek God.

         May we internalize what Christ declared in Matthew 10:42, ⁴²And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.

         The term “little ones” can be properly translated as disciples. Little ones suggest vulnerability of Christ’s disciples. Little children need help. A cup of cold water is most precious to thirsty person in summer. Surely, God rewards us when we generously share supplies with the family of believers.

 Elijah

         During severe famine in the time of Prophet Elijah, the Lord told him, “Go to Zarephath in Sidon. I appointed a widow to supply you with food.” The widow told Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17:12-14, ¹²“As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” ¹³Elijah said to the widow, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

         The story teaches that the widow and her family had food supply until the Lord sent rain on the land. God is gracious. He supplies the needs of his servants. He also blesses anyone who is generous to his servants. It is written, “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” If you’ve got much money, pray that you may invest some of it  eternal treasures for yourself in heaven.

The Lord’s Supper reminds us to proclaim the gospel until Christ returns.

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