July 25 | 2 Corinthians 8: 1-15
- Michael Guastella
- Jul 25
- 3 min read
DAILY READING
Giving Delightfully in Jesus' Name
By Michael Guastella
I have heard people say before that “giving is the most fun you’ll ever have with money” and that really is true. You can spend it, you can save it, but there is something about giving it to someone else that fills the heart with such a unique kind of joy.
In preparing to write this, I reflected on an encounter I had with a young woman I met about seven or eight years ago. I work in downtown Columbus, and maybe two or three times a month, I stop into a bagel shop near my office and get a breakfast sandwich. One day, in this shop, this woman approached me and told me she remembered me from when I had bought her a sandwich there a few months back, and she wanted to say thank you again and told me she was doing much better than the last time she saw me. She was down on her luck, living in her car, and just trying to make ends meet. Truth be told, I don’t even remember buying her the sandwich in the first place, but I won’t ever forget the look of gratitude in her eyes the day she came up to me. How overwhelmed she was for just a bagel, however many months prior. Something that was routine for me was profound for her. I haven’t seen her since that day, but I think of her a lot. It struck me how small of an effort it took to give her hope and to fill a need for her that day. That experience changed the way that I viewed giving to people.
Something that I have been praying for more recently are opportunities to be generous. Not just with financial resources, but with my time, with my patience, with my energy. I definitely fall into the trap of thinking of generosity as exclusively a financial transaction and only coming from “extra” money you have on hand for the month. But Paul reminds us in this passage that being generous isn’t about giving away a surplus, but rather the result of a surrendered heart. Generosity isn't just a box to check and a nice thing to do - generosity is the heart of the Gospel.
Paul challenges us in verses 8 and 9 by testing our sincerity and appeals to the ultimate example:
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
That’s the whole story right there. Jesus possessed all the riches of Heaven and gave it up for us. (A tad more impressive than a bagel sandwich, by the way.) He loved us so much that he sacrificed it all to take our sin upon himself, taken on human weakness, and perish on a cross so that we may delight in the riches. He gave us absolutely everything he had.
We continue reading into verse 12 to see that God doesn’t measure our giving by the amount we give, but rather the eagerness in our heart to do so, and our willingness to rely solely on Him. There is no room in His kingdom for greediness, but there will always be enough grace to meet our needs.
With the sacrifice of the cross on our hearts, we too should pray for the spirit of giving in every corner of our lives. It may involve our finances, but it could also mean offering our time to someone in crisis, extending forgiveness when it's undeserved, or offering encouragement when we feel drained ourselves.
When we give from a place of delight, we discover that our hands aren't empty – they're simply holding the very grace God intends to pass through us. And when we remember that grace belongs to all of us, we can give it away with an abundance of joy knowing that our sacrifices pale in comparison to the sacrifice made for us on the cross.
PRAYER
Father - give us opportunities to be generous. Continue to test our sincerity and let us give all we have in Your name and for Your glory. Thank you for sending your Son for us as the ultimate act of generosity. Let us not try to earn it, but give in gratitude because of it. Thank you for all you bless us with.
About the Author
MICHAEL GUASTELLA
I have been a Hilliard resident since 2022, and have lived in Columbus since 2014. I am originally from the Cleveland area. I work in downtown Columbus as a government affairs consultant. My wife, Rachael, and I have been attending UALC since early 2024.
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