Monday – 2 Corinthians 8:1-7
This week we’re going to look at Exemplary Giving.

“And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches” (8:1).

Isn’t it satisfying to be commended by someone in authority as an example for others to follow? 2 Corinthians 8 is the first of two consecutive chapters on giving. And Paul begins this passage by offering the churches in Macedonia as an example for the Corinthian churches to follow. Before we get too deep into the passage, I want us to focus on a single word in the first verse of this passage. It is a word which we need to pay close attention to when we think about giving. That word is grace. Even before Paul tells us what the Macedonians did, he specifically cites the grace given to them by God and then exhibited by these churches. So, as much as Paul is going to tell us what a great thing the Macedonian churches did by giving, he wants us to know their giving was an act of grace. What place does grace have in our giving? Evidently, it is the first place.  

So, here we see just what this collection of churches did with the grace God gave them that earned them a special place in Paul’s eyes. They didn’t let their circumstances dictate their response to a need. They were being severely tested! But, that didn’t stop them. They were living in abject poverty! That didn’t deter them either. They still gave, and to top it off, they gave as much as they were able. When Paul saw what they were going to do, he gave them an out, but they pleaded with him to allow them to give more. Why? Because they wanted to participate in what God was doing. And it wasn’t even for them. It was for other believers elsewhere. Grace enabled them to see beyond their own situation, circumstance, and plight. Grace enabled them to see the needs of others. Grace enabled them to give.