Sharing Your Blessings
2 Corinthians 9:8-11
Dear brothers and sisters, many if not all of us were taught along the way that it is a good thing to help others in need and that help can come in many different forms, right? Maybe some of you know someone who needs advice and you can help them navigate their way through a difficult situation by giving of your time and your experiences. Maybe a friend due to unfortunate circumstances in life needs a place to stay and you offer them the use of your spare bedroom or a couch to sleep on until they’re able to get back on their feet. Maybe you know a friend who is in need of a few dollars until payday and you offer to lend them the money they need to help them get through a challenging time. It is a good thing to help people. It is the Christian thing to do. In the section of scripture that serves as the basis for our meditation this morning, Paul is encouraging and urging the Corinthians to be generous with the blessings that God has given to them. To be sure, God gives us blessings so that we can enjoy them personally. That is true, but it is also true that God gives us blessings so that we can use those blessings to help others to be a blessing to other people. Our text says so that in all times at all, excuse me, our text says that in all things at all times having all that you need you will abound in every good work. Did you notice the use of the words all and every? Brothers and sisters we are fully equipped to help others in every way possible at all times and in all circumstances. However, the truth is many times we’re not all that eager to help others in their time of need. We sometimes selfishly want to keep for ourselves all the blessings that God has given to us. Maybe someone calls on us needing advice, but we find ourselves too busy to offer them the direction that they need. Maybe our friend comes to us needing a place to stay and instead of offering them the use of our spare bedroom or to sleep on our couch, we don’t offer them anything because we don’t want to be inconvenienced ourselves. Maybe again our friend needs a few dollars to help them get through till payday and we don’t offer to lend them what they need even though we have the means because we selfishly want to keep those things for ourselves. And even if we do all those things, sometimes we do those things grudgingly and not with a heart of generosity. In our first reading this morning we learned that God graciously provided for the needs of the Israelites even as they grumbled against them. The Lord could have turned his back on them, but he didn’t. Instead, he fed them every single day with manna and with quail. In our second reading this morning we saw how Jesus fed the 5,000, a number that was likely closer to 10 or 15,000 counting women and children. The disciples, they were perplexed. They only had two small loaves and, excuse me, five small loaves and two fish. They were perplexed as to how to feed so many people, but Jesus and his love and his compassion provided for their physical needs. Brothers and sisters, in much the same way, God blesses us sinners today and gives us what we need for our daily lives. He gives us food, he gives us clothing and shelter, he gives us our time, talents, and treasures, and he gives us all these things not so that we can store up treasures for ourselves here on earth, but he gives us these blessings so that we can be good stewards of the gifts that he has given to us so that we can, in turn, use those gifts to help other people. In doing so we are really saying thank you to God for everything that he has done for us. And we all know that God did not stop at just providing for our physical needs and he and his mercy and in his grace provided for our greatest need of all. Jesus rescued us from our spiritual slavery to sin, death, and hell and gave us freedom, the gift of the forgiveness of all of our sins, even those times when we have failed to be generous in giving our blessings to others. And that is how generous God has been with each and every one of us. He says to each and every one of us, all of your sins, all of our sins are forgiven, and so we are eternally blessed. And out of thanks for all that he has done for us, we want to share that generosity, his generosity, his forgiveness of sins to all people everywhere. And when we are generous with others, when we give of ourselves, we give glory to God. When we help others in whatever way they may need our help, dear fellow Christians, we are pointing those very same people to Jesus who was so generous with his love and with his forgiveness that he wants to share it with the entire world. And what is more, is that he uses us sinner saints to point those very same people towards his love. How amazing, how great is that? God has prepared each and every one of us for every good work. He has blessed us with everything that we need in order to do the good work that he has already prepared in advance for us to do. Wrap your minds around that concept for a second. Before time existed, God looked through time and he blessed each and every one of us with the blessings that we would need, with the gifts that we would need, so that we could do the very work that he prepared in advance for us to do. That is an awesome thought and it gives us a really clear picture as to what God will have us to do with our lives and with our blessings. And so, brothers and sisters, God wants us to bless others with the gifts and the blessings that he has given to us. He wants us to be generous with those blessings that he has given to us so that through our generosity to others, others may see the love and the generosity of the Lord who loves them dearly and wants them to know that he is their Savior. So can you believe it? God is going to bless others through us. God is going to get his work done through us. That is such an honor. Thanks be to God and to God be the glory. Amen.
