The story came out in a major newspaper a few years ago. A family was on a vacation trip and they stopped for a picnic at a roadside rest stop. Their three small children sat with them at the table when the father began to experience chest pains. He lost consciousness, slumped over and slipped to the ground. His wife, knowing a heart attack had taken place, tried to get some motorists to stop and help, but to no avail.
It was about fifty feet to the car. She didn’t think she could carry him that far. But she did.
At the hospital she told the doctor what she had done and he was amazed that this little woman could carry a man weighing 205 pounds, get him in the car and get to the hospital in time to spare his life. She said she didn’t realize how impossible her task was; she just knew she had to do it.
Human beings learn that they are able to do more than they thought capable. In the Louisiana hurricane aftermath, people did not think they could deal with the problems they faced. But many of them did, and they learned how much “power” they had within them. Recent fire storms in southern California saw some unbelievable feats performed by ordinary people. We can do more – much than we think.
There was a time when the apostle Paul had to write to a congregation of God’s people to get some help to people who were in desperate need. He called on them to provide help, giving examples of others who had done so. One group of Christians, in “deep poverty” themselves, “abounded unto the riches of their liberality,” 2 Corinthians 8:2. They gave more than they thought they could. But there was a reason for their kind, gracious generosity. Paul said it was because they “first gave themselves to the Lord,” verse 5. Just like that woman who did much more than she thought she could (because she loved her husband) they did more than they thought they could, and it was because they had given themselves to the Lord. What do we learn from this? Yes, we can always do more, more than we ever dreamed.
There is something here that may be a bit alarming. In that same chapter, 2 Corinthians 8:3, we are told “to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves…” Within their group as well as individually, they had a “power” to give, a capability to give, and that capability was greater than they had thought. Why should the fact that God knows our “power” to give alarm us unless we have been stingy? Here we discover that in the mind of God there is a “capacity” for giving in every person, and He knows our “power” – what we can do and what we can give. How much could we give if we really wanted to?
Those cheerful, generous people Paul mentioned earlier had gone beyond their “power” to give, but it was because they considered everything they had as already belonging to the Lord.
There is something else that can be troubling to some. We know that to be God’s people we must love God and His people, 1 Corinthians 13, John 13. How we treat others is an indication of how we feel about them. At this time of the year, gifts are purchased for those we love, and the gifts we buy express that love. In 2 Corinthians 8:7, we are told that the way we give proves “the sincerity of our love” for God.
Preachers have for generations sought to motivate us to give more generously than before. Sermons on “giving” are often not well received. Some think there are selfish motives within the preacher’s mind. Stories abound – and are told to young preachers. But the way to motivate generous giving is to cause men and women to love God more. More than they have in the past.
This congregation has been more than generous in the past and promises to continue that generosity. Neither the elders of this congregation or any other can determine what amount of funds or service is your “power” to give. But God knows. Have we considered how God has prospered us? Have we thought about the blessings we enjoy today, and the promise of eternal blessings in our heavenly home?
For God’s people in the Old Testament, He gave specifics concerning their giving. They were quite extensive and very demanding. In the New Testament He has not given us a percentage, a specific amount that we should give. He has said,
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come,” 1 Corinthians 16:2.
How has God blessed and prospered us?
