“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
~ 2 Corinthians 9:11
Hi James and Ellen,
Would you rather be given a gift or give a gift? When you see poor, starving kids on TV, do you want to help the kids by giving them some of your clothes? Are you excited when your grandmaa and grandpaa show up again at your house – after your grandmaa and grandpaa have not seen you for a time, because your grandmaa and grandpaa will have gifts for you? When you hear about a kid who is really sick and who needs money to help for an operation and/or medications, do you want to give your allowance to help with that kid’s money needs? Are you excited when Christmas finally arrives or when you have another birthday because you know that you will receive gifts? Do you always want to on Sundays put money in a church’s offering plate? Are you exited when the mail arrives because there might be another postcard from your grandmaa and grandpaa? Your grandpaa thinks that most kids like to be given gifts but not every kid likes to give gifts. It pleases God when a kid gives a gift to a kid in need. God sees a kid as being selfish and self-centered when he or she expects to be given gifts. It pleases God when a kid gives with a grateful, joyful spirit. God sees a kid as giving grudgingly if the kid is not giving from an innate desire to give. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have friends – Jim and Holly, who started a business so that they could give your grandmaa and grandpaa money each month. Your grandmaa and grandpaa first got to know Jim and Holly – who your dad and your Aunt Lynn also know, when your grandpaa, grandmaa, dad and Aunt Lynn lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Jim and Holly are about ten years younger than your grandmaa and grandpaa. Your grandmaa and grandpaa were able to befriend Jim and Holly after Jim and Holly moved to Aberdeen and after Jim and Holly began to attend the Aberdeen Christian & Missionary Alliance Church – which was the same church that your grandmaa and grandpaa were going to with your dad and Aunt Lynn. Your dad was about nine years old and your Aunt Lynn was less than a year old when your grandmaa and grandpaa first met Jim and Holly. Your grandmaa and grandpaa would often have Jim and Holly show up at their house. Whenever your grandmaa and grandpaa had Jim and Holly came over to their house, your grandmaa and grandpaa would order Hawaiian pizza. The Hawaiian Pizza that your grandpaa would get would have Canadian bacon and pineapple on it. When Jim and Holly spent time with your grandmaa and grandpaa at their house, your grandmaa and grandpaa would play a card game called Milbourne with them.
About the time that your grandpaa graduated for the first time from Moody Bible Institute, Jim began studying at St. Paul Bible College. When your grandmaa and grandpaa left for the first time for Bolivia, Jim and Holly began to give periodic support gifts to your grandmaa and grandpaa. Jim and Holly were doing okay in what they were doing but . . . to Jim and Holly – they were not doing well enough – in their minds, to support your grandmaa and grandpaa the way that they really wanted to support your grandmaa and grandpaa. Jim and Holly decided to start up a business. Jim and Holly told your grandmaa and grandpaa to let them know what your grandmaa and grandpaa needed and . . . when your grandmaa and grandpaa did not have enough support each month for what your grandmaa and grandpaa needed to leave for Guatemala, Jim and Holly promised your grandmaa and grandpaa that they would remit each month what your grandmaa and grandpaa still needed. About a year after your grandmaa and grandpaa arrived in Guatemala, Jim called the OC International – Equipo SEPAL, field office in Guatemala. Jim wanted to talk with your grandpaa. Right when Jim called the Equipo SEPAL field office, your grandpaa was talking with the Equipo SEPAL field office administrator in his office about Jim. Jim had never called the Equipo SEPAL field office before nor has Jim called the Equipo SEPAL field office since. It still is unbelievable to your grandpaa to out of the blue have the guy call him who your grandpaa was talking about to another guy – especially when that guy who your grandpaa was talking about lives in the United States and your grandpaa lives in Guatemala. Jim called your grandpaa at the Equipo SEPAL office to find out whether or not your grandpaa needed a computer. Jim has given your grandpaa three different computers. Jim about four years ago contacted your grandpaa again – this time to tell your grandpaa that he and Holly wanted to give your grandmaa and grandpaa their ’95 F-150 Ford double-cab pickup. The pickup had only about 26,000 miles on it when Jim and Holly gave your grandpaa their pickup. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are now receiving $1,300 monthly support gifts from Jim and Holly. Jim has the giver gift.
2 Corinthians 9 is about the large money gift that the Christ-followers who were living in Corinth had gotten together to pass on to the Jerusalem Christ-follower community. The Jerusalem Christ-follower community was in desperate need of help. Paul really wanted to make sure that the Corinth Christ-follower community was doing with the right attitude what they were doing. Paul knew that if their attitudes and their reasons were right for collecting a very charitable gift, Paul says in verse 11 that this will happen, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Paul knew that God would bless the Corinth Christ-followers if . . . and that what the Corinth Christ-followers did would be an encouragement for each Christ-follower community and each guy and gal who has made a decision of faith, to want to give special gifts. God is blessing Jim and Holly because of how they are helping your grandmaa and grandpaa. Giving a gift may be harder to do than receiving a gift but . . . gift giving guys, gals and kids are who God blesses.
2 Corinthians 9 (201)