2 Corinthians is a fascinating letter.
Somewhere around the middle of it, Paul implores the church to join in the giving scheme.
I read that section of scripture and am bothered about giving. Paul is not talking about tithing or anything like that, he’s talking about organising aid for those fellow believers suffering elsewhere. His argument touches on a generosity that has nothing to do with what we possess. A generosity with a heart that looks to meet the needs of others.
This bothers me because it’s not necessarily the sort of giving that I’ve been surrounded by through my life in church. It’s a different sort of giving. It gets to the heart of what Jesus referred to about the widow who gives her last mite. She gives not out of her abundance, but out of her heart.
There is something about this giving, however, where the heart is touched by the need. Take our Father – His heart is touched with the need for His creation. Some people get it slightly twisted to think that God desperately needed us and His whole mission was man-centred. The scriptures would indicate, however, that creation only finds its meaning through its creator. We were made for Him. So the need the mission of God meets is the essential need of man to find who He really is by recognising we were only ever made for Him and can only ever find fulfilment in life in Him.
That then goes into a life reflecting the image of our Creator. As He gives to meet needs, so we give to meet needs. We give our time, we give our resources, most importantly we give all of ourselves to meet the needs we see.
Which brings us to the issue at hand – are we truly aware of others to identify needs and using what God has given us to meet those needs?
There are evident physical needs that require attention. It’s at those basic levels that God compels us to address give of ourselves as expressions of love. Just as He fed the hungry, so He expects us to feed the hungry. Those who are naked expect to be clothed. These appear basic, but it still baffles me how we miss these basics.
In this country there’s been a rise in foodbanks exactly because there are more people who just cannot afford to even feed themselves. It’s an indictment on our society that we’ve reached this stage, but a mark of how in line we are with the heart of Christ that a number of churches are meeting that need through running foodbanks.
The needs however go far beyond that. There are needs that individuals have and needs that groups have, and the beauty and ingenuity of the creator of the universe is that He has put in place those who can meet those needs. So it can be met if we but had the eyes to see, the heart to feel and the will to do what is needed to express the love of the God. This same God who saw the state of fallen humanity, felt the need for reconciliation and had His eternal will that man should walk as His sons and daughters portraying that image for all eternity.
I am bothered to see what He sees, feel what He feels and will to give how He wants me to give to meet those needs.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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