For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
Do you want to give cheerfully and generously? As we saw last week, if we have a heart like God’s we’ll want to be part of what He’s doing in the world around us. We’ll love what He loves. We’ll be excited to give to further His work.
In writing to the Corinthians about their financial participation in the Jerusalem relief effort, Paul pointed them to God’s grace and generosity to them as a foundation for their generosity toward others. In 2 Corinthians 8:9 he said, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Take a few minutes to meditate on that verse. How was Jesus rich? How did He become poor? How can we become rich through His poverty? How should we respond to what He has done for us?
Now spend a few minutes prayerfully considering the following verses that speak of God’s great gift to us. Ask God to use these passages to give you a greater appreciation for His gift to you.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (NIV)
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32 (NIV)