My Cup Overflows

2 Corinthians 9
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8


LET IT GLOW

Don't we like those free gifts? One came to me yesterday in the mail, after I researched this chapter, getting it ready to post. What a surprise it was, a refund on prescriptions bought years ago. One hundred dollars! The company had overcharged and was forced to refund its customers. (It wasn't free to the company, who had to fork out the money.) My husband asked what I was going to do with it. I replied,"buy more medicine next week."
I think God was using this for an illustration for us concerning this chapter about giving. I had decided to give something to a family in need and God blessed my gift before it got out of the house. I had purposed it in my heart to give. Wait a minute. Why not give the money, too? The family could certainly need it more than I, since their house burned last week. Okay Lord. my cup overflows. I have clothes on back, a warm house to live in, food on my table, and Jesus in my heart. What more do I need?

How about you? When was the last time you gave someone a free gift, expecting nothing in return?
(Note: I'm only telling this to show how our Lord keeps His Word, not to toot my own horn.)

Verse 15 tells us,"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
NLT says it this way, "Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!"
NAS says,"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
Beck Version tells us,"Thanks be to God for His gift that is more than we can tell."

This "gift" which Paul is talking about, is in reference to the gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ. He is given to us out of love, an indescribable gift. He is our salvation, dying in our place as payment for our sins.
Romans 6:23b states,"but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Ephensians 2:8-9 explains,"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
We can't work for this gift, earn it, or deserve it by birth right. It is a free gift for us to reach out and receive by faith, believing in Jesus. It can't get any better than that, can it? Certainly it is incomprehensible that someone would die for me, a sinner. Thank you Jesus!


LET IT GROW

Looking at our key verses, we see the "sow-reap" principle. An example of this is when the farmer sows seed for his crops. If he sows just a little seed, he will only get a small harvest; if he sows much seed, he will get a large harvest. So it is with us. We will get a return on what we have sown.

What do we reap when we give?
David Guzik answers, "Blessings that are both material and spiritual. Materially, we can trust that God will provide for the giving heart. (Philippians 4:19) Spiritually, we can trust that God will reward the giving heart both now and in eternity. (Matthew 19:29)"

Guzik went on to say,"Every Christian should be a giver. Not grudgingly (reluctantly, regretfully given with plenty of complaining) or of necessity (made to give or minipulated). A cheerful giver (cheerful in the Greek is the word hilaros, is root for our English word hilarious) God wants us to give happily, because that's how God Himself gives! Jesus taught even the smallest gift, if given with the right heart, would not go unrewarded (Matt. 1:42)."

Does that put a different perspective on it?

In the devotional book, Experiencing God Day-By-Day, Blackaby said:

"If God finds in you a generous heart that willingly and freely gives what it has to others, then God responds toward you in like manner. Let us choose to sow generously in everything we do in our Christian lives. The harvest we reap will be Christlikeness."
Concerning verse 8, Blackaby said, "When you relate to God you always deal with abundance, for God does nothing in half measures! This is true regarding His grace. He is not miserly when it comes to providing grace to His servants. When you seek to perform a good work that God has asked you to do, you will always find an ample supply of God's grace to sustain you."


LET IT GO

Thank You Lord for Your free gift to me and others.

Use me to share Your love today.

Show me the needs of others and help me meet those needs, materially or spiritually.