Monday, February 10, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: 2 Corinthians 7-8
Key Verse
2 Corinthians 8:5 — “And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”
Devotional Thought
Paul writes to the church at Corinth from Macedonia, and the letter throbs with the relief of a father who has waited anxiously for news of his children. He had sent them a severe letter, and he admits he repented of it—regretted the pain it would cause—until Titus returned with word that the Corinthians had not hardened but softened. They had sorrowed after a godly sort, and that sorrow wrought repentance. Paul, who had been troubled on every side, without fightings and within fears, is comforted by the coming of Titus and by the consolation Titus himself received in Corinth. There is something very human here: a weary apostle, a faithful messenger, a chastened church, and a God who comforteth those that are cast down.
The heart of the passage is Paul’s distinction between two sorrows. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation; the sorrow of the world worketh death. One turns the soul toward God and produces carefulness, indignation, fear, vehement desire, zeal. The other merely wounds and leaves the wound festering. In February, when winter has worn long and the year’s resolutions have lost their shine, we know something of both. Conviction that drives us to the cross is a mercy; remorse that only circles back on itself is a slow death. Paul names the difference plainly so that we might examine which sorrow is ours.
Then, in chapter eight, the scene shifts to money—and to the Macedonians, who in great trial of affliction and deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality, giving beyond their power and begging Paul for the privilege of contributing. He holds them up not to shame the Corinthians but to stir them, and he grounds the whole appeal in Christ: though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Giving, in Paul’s mind, is never merely financial. It is the sincerity of love made visible, and it must be handled honestly, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.
Notice, too, the tenderness of verse twelve: if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. God does not weigh the gift; He weighs the willingness. The Corinthians are not asked to match the Macedonians but to finish what they had already begun to will a year earlier. So it is with us. The Christian life is largely a matter of completing in practice what grace has already planted in desire—cleansing ourselves from filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, and proving the sincerity of our love not in word only but in deed.
Reflection
- When you are grieved over sin, is it godly sorrow that drives you to repentance and to Christ, or the sorrow of the world that only leaves you discouraged and stuck?
- Paul says a willing mind is accepted according to what a man hath. Where has God stirred your willingness, and what “performance also” is He asking you to complete out of what you already have?
Prayer
Father, we thank You that You are the God who comforteth those that are cast down. Search our hearts and show us whether our sorrow over sin is godly sorrow leading to repentance, or the sorrow of the world that only wounds. Grant us the grace to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in Your fear. Make us willing, and then make us faithful to perform what we have willed, giving not grudgingly but as You have prospered us. We remember the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich. Make our love sincere, our giving cheerful, and our lives honest in Your sight and before men, to the glory of Christ. Amen.