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Helping one another 2 Corinthians 8
Rich In Joy
A waitress spends her whole shift on her feet, walking from table to table, kitchen to register, back and forth. Unless her name is Adrianna Edwards and she lives in Galveston, Texas. Then she walks seven miles to work at Denny’s® before spending her whole shift on her feet, then walks seven miles home so she can do it again tomorrow. “I have bills to pay,” she said. “I’ve got to eat. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.” She was saving up for a car and for college, but meanwhile her 14-mile round trip took 25 pounds off her frame and almost five hours off every day.
Then she served a couple and the woman asked for extra ice cream. Adrianna obliged and the happy customers paid and left. A few hours later, they came back. They had heard Adrianna’s story, so they returned with a 2011 Nissan Sentra—and handed her the keys. The couple—who insisted on anonymity—asked for nothing except that she “pay it forward.” After tearing up in gratitude, Adrianna said she goes to her window every couple of hours just to make sure she didn’t dream the whole thing. Her education got a whole lot closer and she is determined to do her best to help others in the future.
“I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:8-9 NIV).
Jesus commanded His disciples to be generous toward the poor. In world of that day, there was a small fraction of the population that was very wealthy and a small fraction of the population that earned a comfortable living and a very large population of shockingly poor people. For most Christians, adding another plate at a meal was a strain but giving away clothing was a sacrifice. Often, a gift would only relieve a moment’s distress but occasionally the gift would spark a change of life from scrabbling poverty to mature independence. The gratitude flowing from that generosity would result in a mirrored grace into another’s life. And a little pool of joy and hope would well up in a parched and graceless world.
The Son of God voluntarily left behind the splendor and pure peace of heaven and made Himself shockingly poor. He never owned land or a house or a boat; He barely owned the clothes He wore. Once His ministry began, He ate what was offered to Him, slept where He was welcomed, asked for no privilege or consideration. He blessed all who sincerely came to Him though, healing, teaching, reordering and restoring life. Ultimately, He died in our place so that we might gain eternal life in His presence. He gave us a gift that sparks a change in our lives, from half-panicked hostility to joyous peace and a sure hope. From our gratitude, we can be generous at all times, reaching out to restore another’s life and to irrigate the joyless desert of our world. That’s how it changes the world for us to live as followers of Jesus Christ.
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