Yesterday I was listening to an outstanding message by John Piper, and it got me thinking about some key truths based in 2 Cor. 8:1-2. There we read, “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”

The thing that struck me from this passage is that “rich generosity” flowed not from abundance, but from “extreme poverty.” In other words, they gave deeply and sacrificially, that which they did not have, by the grace of God. And they did so not with a grudging spirit, but with overflowing joy.

Piper mentioned that the state in the U.S. with the lowest per capita income is Mississippi. Also, the state with the highest per capita giving is … Mississippi. In other words, those who have the least are giving the most.

What a tremendous testimony to us all those Macedonian believers are. May we likewise be generous in giving to others, regardless of how much we have.

Pressing on,
Eric