1 Corinthians 16
I have a little bit of a smile on my
face as I write this today. Paul starts out this chapter with, “Now concerning
the collection for the saints: . . . .”
Hmmm, what an interesting topic!
Paul often ends his letters with words
of exhortation and reminders. As he wraps up this letter he turns to giving. I
receive a pretty steady barrage of letters that basically say, “concerning the
collection for” – starving children, support of missionaries, training of
seminarians, men’s ministry, building homes for the homeless, etc., etc., etc. Then
you get letters from your local church (written by people like me!) saying,
“Remember your tithe!”
We are privileged to give back to the
Lord as He has prospered us. This is a normal part of our worship. It is also
an example of God’s grace at work in us when we see the things of this world as
tools to do God’s will and shower His love on others. Many people live to horde
and accumulate worldly wealth, as children of God we begin to see that we have
been blessed to be a blessing to other. This is part of what Solomon learned
and taught in Ecclesiastes – enjoy and use the fruits of our labor, but
recognize that we cannot keep them so use them wisely – that is, with God’s
wisdom.
Paul also speaks on behalf of a couple
of his fellow evangelists: Timothy and
Apollos. I’m not going to dig too deeply into this other than to say it is good
to treat God’s servants with honor and to be at peace with them. Pastors,
teachers, and other full time church workers are gifts from God to His people –
just as the people are gifts from God to pastors, teachers, etc. We do well to love
one another and thank God for putting us together!
One of the last exhortations Paul gives
his readers is, “Let all that you do be done in love.” It is that agape word
again. God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son . . . . We are
bearers of that love. We are sharers of that love. That which we received we
pass on as of first importance – Jesus loved us so much that he died, was
buried, rose and was seen because He loves us.
Lord, help me use my finances, my life, and
all I have to spread Your love in this world; the love that moved you to come
and die for our sins to give us forgiveness and eternal life. Amen.
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