2 Corinthians 8:21-24

²¹For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. ²²In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. ²³As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. ²⁴Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

Complete

God is love. He first loved us even before we were yet to be born, he created everything we need to survive this world. By his grace, God has delivered everything we need for godly life. Do you strongly believe that?

We pray that the Holy Spirit produces love in us so that we can love God. If you sense the Holy Spirit in your life, you could sense love for God. But, how can we practically prove our love for God? What does God expect as practical proof of love for him? 1 John 2:5-6 declares, ⁵If anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Obeying God is practical proof that love for him is made complete. We can claim or sing songs about our love for God, but it’s just partial and not complete display of love that God expects from us. It is our obedience to God that proves our love for God is made complete in us and through us.

Obedience to God and love for him practically show the Holy Spirit empowered us. God requires obedience to him as biblical proof of love for him. Why is that? God wants us to personally explore his amazing love for us. God has already prepared blessings for obedience to his instructions.

Nothing can compare to God’s love for us. His love is everlasting. He knows if we love him or not yet. When we obey God, it practically proves that his grace is activated in our life. We pray for inspiration of the Holy Spirit to cheerfully follow what God has stipulated in his commands.

1. Stipulate

²¹For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

Apostle Paul stipulated practical proofs of sincerity in the eyes of God and mankind. It seems that Paul was very dramatic when he said, “We are taking pains to do what is right.” He advised the Corinthians to complete their desire by sharing their abundance to the needy believers in Judea.

Titus and the brother who was praised by all the churches went to Corinth ahead of Paul to make sure the collection of offering was prepared. Paul expected the collected offering will be ready when he came in Corinth. Paul and his mission team will deliver the collected offerings to Judea.

By the grace of God, the Corinthians excelled in everything. They had discerned that it is right before God to excel also in the grace of giving.

They trusted Paul as Christ’s apostle so they followed his stipulations. As Christ’s ambassadors how do we behave? We can learn from Alex Eala.

Republic Act No. 8491

Alex Eala became Tennis champion recently. Many Filipinos, religious or not cannot hide their gladness about her victory. Her trophy is a tangible proof of her love for playing tennis. During interviews, Alex expresses her thoughts in English but she also speaks in Filipino to greet her Filipino fans.

At one particular incident, Alex was signing autographs after her win. She accommodated everyone. But when someone brought her a Philippine flag to sign, she politely declined, “Bawal sa flag!” (It’s prohibited on flag.)

Many observers praised her awareness and sensitivity to rules. She honors the Philippine flag. Republic Act No. 8491 prohibits deface, defile, dishonor or ridicule of the national flag of the Philippines or over its surface.

One may ignore it or not but people are observing Christian behavior. How do we prove our love and respect for God? We read God’s word to know what he stipulated for his children. We try our best to attend worship services regularly. We participate in the ministry. We return his tithes. We give our offerings. Obeying God practically proves love and respect for him.

Observe what Prophet Samuel told King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:19-23.

¹⁹Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” ²⁰“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. ²¹The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²²But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. ²³For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

Partial obedience is rebellion like idolatry. But God blesses complete obedience to him. God told King Saul to destroy all the Amalekites. King Saul said, “I completely destroyed the Amalekites but let their king lived.” His idea of completely destroyed Amalekites was to spare Agag their king.

God has mission purposes for each of us. He also requires complete obedience to him. Can we really obey the Lord? How? God sent the Holy Spirit into our heart to guarantee that we enter heaven and what else?

The Holy Spirit helps us follow the teachings of Christ stipulated for us to follow. Let us reflect on what Christ declares in John 14:26, ²⁶The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

What did Christ teach that we should remember? We serve as light of the world. We testify how Christ saved us from the penalty of sin. We speak for his grace and love and his immediate return to take us into heaven. And what else? Christ sent us to make disciples and teach them to obey him.

2. Send

²²In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 

When the Corinthians followed their preferred leader, they’re divided. By the grace of God, they responded proactively after Apostle Paul rebuked them bluntly. The Corinthians excelled in everything. And Apostle Paul was confident that they excelled also in the grace of giving. Titus observed their transformation personally. And he was very enthusiastic to visit them again.

Enthusiasm can be translated as zealousness for the Lord. When we are inspired by the Lord, we serve him spontaneously with enthusiasm.

Keep in mind always that godly command requires godly effort.

Human sinful nature causes us to resist and disobey God. Therefore, we must always pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We pray that the Holy Spirit inspires us to gladly and peacefully follow the Lord like our shepherd.

Let’s seriously reflect on what King David testified in Psalm 23:1-6,

¹The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, ³he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. ⁴Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Do you dare to go to a hostile territory? Surely, you’ll think otherwise. We travel to places where people are friendly, right? But if there’s no other choice and no other place to go, we trust the Lord as our shepherd like David. Wherever he went, David trusted the Lord as his shepherd.

The angry King Saul wanted to kill David. He killed those who helped David. David discerned that Israel was not safe anymore. King Saul sent spies everywhere. Anyone who may help him could be endangered. David went to live in Gath, a Philistine territory. It narrated in 1 Samuel 27:4-7,

⁴When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. ⁵Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. ⁷David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

Interesting, right? David killed the giant Philistine Goliath. Goliath was from the city of Gath in the Philistine territory. The Philistines were enemies of Israel. Yet, David escaped from Saul and lived in the enemy’s territory. Achish king of Gath was generous to David. The Lord prepared for David a table in the presence of his enemies, the Philistines. That’s God’s  grace.

David cannot trust his Israelite relatives but he was comfortable with his Philistine enemies. It practically displayed God’s grace in David’s life.

Christ warned us in Matthew 10:16-20, ¹⁶I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Christ mandated us to witness for him. To witness for Christ is to be martyrs for him. He declared it long ago that he sends us among wolves so, expect that hostility will not be absent. When we sense timidity to speak for Christ, we must pray to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Do not rush. Wait prayerfully until we sense enthusiasm to testify how Christ transformed us.

It will be spontaneous. We have to be prepared intentionally and rely upon the Lord always. He will show us how we may start a conversation.

3. Show

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our   brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. ²⁴Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

Other churches observed spiritual maturity of the Corinthians. They shared their abundance to needy believers of Judea. Additionally, they’re generous toward Titus and his companions who visited them. Apostle Paul expected generosity and hospitality to believers prove their love for God.

So, what can we learn from the hospitality of the Corinthians toward Titus and his companions who visited them? Reflect on what it challenges in Romans 12:9-13, ⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Sincere love for the Lord is proven by hospitality to the Lord’s people who are in need. We have material needs, financial needs, emotional needs, relationship needs and spiritual needs. Materially adequate people can have spiritual needs also. Even Christians need spiritual foods.

Visit

Someone visited a friend in winter. They sat down next to a fireplace. The visitor asked, “How are you? I have not seen you at church for several weeks now!” “I’m fine. I don’t need to go to church to be spiritually healthy,” he responded. The visitor did not speak again but he took a burning wood from the fireplace and place it away from the fire place. The fire from the separated firewood slowly died down. He returned it to the fireplace, and it burned again. The visitor get ready and said, “Hope to see you on Sunday.”

Regular fellowship with other believers to keep us burning spiritually.

Seriously, let’s reflect on Hebrews 10:24-25, ²⁴Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

We continue to prove our love for God. We prayerfully observe divine opportunity to talk about our adventure with Christ. Christ mandated us to testify for him. Let us intentionally rely upon the Holy Spirit for inspiration. God empowers us to gladly talk about our personal adventure with Christ.

Christ provides the right word on how we reconcile potential believers to God. God has already prepared potential believers to listen and accept the gospel of salvation in Christ. The Day is approaching sooner than expected for Christ’s return. Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus Christ!

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