2 Corinthians 7:13-16; ; 2 Corinthians 8:1-8
The obedience of the Corinthians had aroused joy and affection in Titus and thus doubly rejoiced and comforted Paul himself (7:13, 15). But they were still far from having the zeal of the Macedonian saints (2 Corinthians 8:1-24). The latter had not simply given this or that part of their possessions or time: they had given themselves completely. They had not waited, as some do, until the end of their lives to offer God just a miserable left-over of their strength; they had given themselves "first". Neither had they begun by serving the saints; no, it was to the Lord that they had given themselves first of all. And this first giving had produced all the others. They also belonged to the apostles, the servants of the Lord. Was it an irksome matter for these Macedonians? Quite the opposite! "The abundance of their joy" could go with "a great trial of affliction" and their "deep poverty" be transformed into "the riches of their liberality" (v. 2). What we would readily describe as a burden, they would call a gift (v. 4). May God grant us that same blessed devotion to our Lord, the One whom we have the privilege of being able to serve while serving His people.