“For I testify, they gave according to their means and beyond their means. They did so voluntarily, begging us with great earnestness for the blessing and fellowship of helping the saints. And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 8:3-5 NET).
In Mark 14:12-15, Jesus sent two of His disciples on a mission with the following instructions: “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, ‘Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples’?’‘ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
The owner of that upper room where Jesus ate His final meal is not identified within the pages of the Scriptures. Yet he faithfully made use of his resources in preparing the place where Jesus would later take some of the most decisive actions of His ministry and share some of His most important teachings. While his example may be easy to overlook in light of the momentous events that followed the Last Supper, its important to note that this man served as a steward of the home he possessed.
Despite his anonymity, he was ready and prepared to turn his God-given assets over to Jesus for His use. Thus, Jesus’ anonymous host serves as a silent witness to the importance of faithfully using the resources we possess in His service. In a similar manner, the anonymous Christians referenced in 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 also provide us with a good example as they voluntarily sought to make use of their resources (however limited) in order to help others.
We can follow these good examples today whenever we recognize and accept a similar kind of stewardship responsibility. The idea is that every Christian is responsible to prayerfully manage his or her God-given assets in a manner that honors Him. In the case of the Macedonian Christians, their support went beyond what their financial condition suggested they could afford. In the paraphrased words of Paul the Apostle, “I can guarantee that they were willing to give to the limit of their means, yes and beyond their means, without the slightest urging from me or anyone else” (Phillips).
We’ll examine the first of two important guidelines for good financial giving contained within these verses next.