February 9th - 2 Corinthians 8:9

2 Corinthians 8:9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. The Christian life is, before anything else, characterised by giving, and the reason for this is that it’s how Jesus lived. As we follow in his footsteps, our lives need to be shaped by giving generously. His generosity was so complete that he gave everything and became totally poor in order to make other people rich. This is a huge challenge to all of us in a society that is deeply acquisitive. The assumption is that life is found in acquiring more and more, but Jesus turns that thinking completely on its head. There is an old proverb which runs: “He who takes but never gives, may last for years but never lives.” That’s a scary thought and should redouble our determination to work out how we should go about our giving. We need to find a deeper understanding of where our money and resources come from. When we realise that it’s all from God’s hands, it becomes obvious that our relationship with our money is that of steward. We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out. Our role is to be God’s stewards, so we need to look after our resources in a way that will please him. In the 15th century, Thomas a Kempis wrote [itals]The Imitation of Christ[end itals] in Latin. It has been in print ever since and reminds us of the fundamental responsibility that we all have to use the life of Christ as a pattern for our lives. No one has ever been more fully alive than Jesus, and as we learn how to give generously, we will discover more and more of what it means to be truly alive. Question Jesus is the ultimate example of generous giving, but think of someone in whose life you have seen enormous generosity. What have you learned from them? Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, help me to walk in your footsteps today and to become increasingly generous to others. Amen