Read today’s texts first: 2 Corinthians 7-10
Rather than giving so-so, try giving sow-sow,
and see how God blesses the harvest!
Sometimes I get uncomfortable reading these chapters. Paul seemed to almost overdo his appeal to the Corinthians for money. I guess I’ve become jaded by televangelists who do overdo their pleas – offering pre-blessed holy water for a certain donation to the “ministry.” The difference here is that Paul was not raising money for himself or his ministry. He was teaching them and us something so important it simply can’t be overemphasized: the principle of sowing and reaping. If the Corinthian church was going to grow in numbers and influence, they simply had to learn to give.
That truth applies to PLBC and to me personally. Several years ago we faced a challenging season for the college, with enrolment and tuition increases barely keeping pace with rising cost-sharing expenses. Instead of rewarding our staff with much-needed pay increases, I had to lay off a valuable member of our team. Add to that the largest capital campaign in our history and it was difficult to plan for giving more away. At the same time, I was facing a similar dilemma personally with my own finances.
When I compared that situation with what I was seeing at my then home church, Northside, I learned a valuable lesson. Our church also faced enormous challenges, with building projects looming and video and radio ministries beginning, and yet we gave more and more away. The church set what I thought was an overly aggressive goal of raising $400,000 for PLBC’s new Learning Centre and miraculously met it! It seemed that the more we gave away the more God trusted us with additional resources.
So I applied this lesson at PLBC and to me personally, and to make a very long and exciting story short, saw the miraculous result of sowing generously! “Lord, help me to continue being “faith-full” in my giving. I ask for clear direction and an accompanying gift of faith so I don’t act presumptuously or carelessly with the resources You have entrusted to my care. But rather than giving so-so, I want to keep on giving sow-sow!”
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