The
Macedonian church was radically generous in response to the gospel
gaining traction in their lives. They understood that they were redeemed
in order to serve the rich King who became poor for their sake, so that
they might become rich; and thereby bless others through their
abundance of wealth and joy in the midst of extreme poverty. God
provided for them so that they could provide for the needs of others
(cf. Gen. 12:1-3), despite the fact that they were among the poorest
churches in the first century (AD). May our hearts reflect their radical
generosity…
2 Corinthians 8:1-15
We want you to know, brothers, about the
grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for
in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme
poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond
their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of
taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God
to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should
complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in
faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for
you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 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 by his poverty might
become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this
benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also
to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your
readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of
what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according
to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do
not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a
matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply
their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may
be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”
The Radical Generosity of John Wesley
“[Wesley]
had just finished buying some pictures for his room when one of the
chambermaids came to his door. It was a winter day and he noticed that
she had only a thin linen gown to wear for protection against the cold.
He reached into his pocket to give her some money for a coat, and found
he had little left. It struck him that the Lord was not pleased with how
he had spent his money. He asked himself: ‘Will thy Master say, “Well
done, good and faithful steward?” Thou has adorned thy walls with the
money that might have screened this poor creature from the cold! O
justice! O mercy! Are not these pictures the blood of this poor maid?’
“Perhaps as a
result of this incident, in 1731 Wesley began to limit his expenses so
he would have more money to give to the poor. He records that one year
his income was £30, and his living expenses £28, so he had £2 to give
away. The next year, his income doubled, but he still lived on £28 and
gave £32 away. In the third year, his income jumped to £90; again he
lived on £28, and gave £62 to the poor.
“Wesley
preached that Christian should not merely tithe, but give away all extra
income once the family and creditors were taken care of. He believed
that with increasing income, the Christian’s standard of giving should
increase, not his standard of living. He began this practice at Oxford
and continued it throughout his life. Even when his income rose into the
thousands of pounds, he lived simply and quickly gave up treasures on
earth, so the money went out in charity as quickly as it came in. He
reports that he never had as much as £100 at one time.
“When he
died in 1791, the only money mentioned in his will was the miscellaneous
coins to be found in his pockets and dresser drawers. Most of
the £30,000 he had earned in his life-time he had given away. As Wesley
said, ‘I cannot help leaving my books behind me whenever God calls me
hence; but, in every other respect, my own hands will be my executors.’”
Randy Alcorn
points out that Wesley’s income in today’s dollars would be $160,000
annually. Yet, he lived on only $20,000 of it.[1]
While we may
not be able to live as radically generous as John Wesley (just as few
of us can live out the uncommon faith of George Muller) ,we can
certainly strive to imitate the faith and generosity of our King and
those who have been given the grace to reflect Him. After all, it is the
Spirit of God who empowers such things! May we cultivate the grace of
generosity and find God’s provision sufficient to sustain our radical
self-denial and increasing ministry to the least of these–both
physically and spiritually. May we put God to the test and find His
grace sufficient for producing in us an abundance of joy and poverty
that results in nothing short of a wealth of generosity (Mal. 3:10;
2Cor. 8).
