Your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. (2 Corinthians 8:14)
We have all heard it said that “life is not fair.” Why did this good person die so young? Why did that individual lose everything at the hands of a thief, or by some natural disaster? Inequalities in this life cannot be escaped. Rather than lament this fact, however, the Bible shows us that we can use life’s inequalities as opportunities to glorify God with generosity.
In the early years of the church, the Christians in Jerusalem “through war, famine and persecution had become poor.”1 But they did not suffer through their poverty alone. They received assistance from an unlikely source – gentile Christians! The new believers in churches that Paul had planted throughout Macedonia and Achaia heard about the struggles of their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem and begged Paul for the opportunity to help them. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorted them to joyfully make good on their promise of material support. He told them that their act of generosity would glorify God. It was a matter of fairness, too, to share out of one’s abundance with those in need. Life was not fair – but there was something they could do about it!
We are also able to do something in response to life’s inequalities. It is helpful to recognize that all of us will find ourselves on both sides of this equation, from time to time – sometimes with excess and sometimes in need. It is important to be able to receive in times of need and to share when there is plenty. Of course, abundances do not only refer to material matters. The church in Jerusalem had already shared its abundant spiritual blessings with the gentile churches, before these same churches responded to the material needs of their sisters and brothers in Jerusalem. Our abundance is abundance from God, and something to be used for his glory.
Life is not fair, but we can trust that God is just and in the end will judge all things fairly. Meanwhile we can do our part by both sharing from our abundance and receiving when we are in need. In the process we help and encourage one another while bringing glory to the name of God.
In March donations to missionary support funds paid for 57 percent of all support expenses; $37,986 was used from the General Fund to supplement missionary allowances and $25,715 was used from the Estate Fund to supplement benefit expenses for the month. Thank you for your on-going support!