April 29th | Live to Love and Love to Give
- CoachJasonMays
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
2 Corinthians 8:5, 11-12, 15 (NIV)
“And they exceeded our expectations: they gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us… Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have… The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
The Macedonians didn’t just give money—they gave themselves first to the Lord. That one decision changed everything. Before they ever opened their wallets, they opened their hearts.
When we truly surrender our lives to God, generosity stops being a burden and becomes a natural overflow of our relationship with Him.
No one can out-give God. The moment we submit our will to His, the greatest Giver of all time equips us to become generous people. Our service, our time, our resources—when given under His leadership—carry His blessing.
But good intentions alone aren’t enough. Paul challenges the Corinthians with this powerful reminder: finish the work. It’s easy to feel moved to give or serve in the moment. It’s much harder to follow through with daily discipline. Anyone can want to help others. Only the committed actually do it.
And here’s the beautiful part: God doesn’t measure your gift by what you don’t have—He honors what you do have.
You don’t need to be the biggest giver, the loudest servant, or the flashiest showman. A humble, obedient heart given according to your means is always acceptable to God. The one who gathered much had no excess, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing. God makes it enough.
Finishing what you started, serve where you are, and give what you can with a humble heart. Live to love. Love to give.