What would you say being a Christian is all about? When young people are asked this question, many respond with answers related to "doing" faith, like loving others and following Jesus. But is that really the central definition of faith? The answer to that question can be found in the first two verses of this chapter. Here Paul references the churches of Macedonia—more specifically, their faith. A few things that stood out to me:
Paul says "the grace of God has been given" to them. This is the grace that came from Jesus' death on the cross. So their faith started with their acceptance of the gospel.
But it wasn't just that they accepted the gospel, it's that they accepted it as precious. And to prove that, he tells what they did when things got hard: "For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part." If the gospel wasn't precious to them, they would have thrown it away as soon as they experienced affliction!
But not only did they hold on to it, the gospel produced a response in them that is so important—I really want you to see this—even in extreme poverty and much affliction, the gospel so filled them with an abundance of joy, that they could not help but spill over onto others! And in this case that meant they gave generously of their resources, even beyond their means.
This is the kind of faith we should desire! When the source of our joy is bound up in the gospel, it won't matter when earthly things are stripped away, and persecution is fierce. In Jesus, we will have all we need to be joyful, overflowing in fact, and that joy will have no place to go but spill out of our lives and onto the people around us.
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