August 26
2 Corinthians 1:1-11
No one likes a ball hog. These people keep the ball to themselves in team sports and fail to share with others. I have watched enough basketball games to know these ball hogs just slow down the game and no one wants to play with them. Sadly, in the same way we can potentially be spiritual ball hogs. We can keep all of God’s gifts to ourselves and inevitably no one will want to be around us. So how can we stay away from this ball hog perspective?
We need to recognize that God showers gifts upon us not so we can enjoy them by ourselves, but so we can pass them on to others. Kirk Franklin, a Gospel musician, wrote a song that says, “Bless me, bless me, God not just for me, but so everyone around me can have everything they need.” This seems to reflect how Paul begins his second letter to the church in Corinth. Paul says the church has been blessed with comfort. God is pouring his comfort into their lives in the midst of difficult circumstances. He is meeting their needs, not by transforming their circumstances, but by changing their hearts. Yet God works in their lives, not just for their own comfort, but so they can comfort others. God never gives to us as an end, but instead to be a channel who passes his grace, compassion, and blessings upon others.
Father God, thank you for the comfort and compassion I continually receive from you. Help me not to keep these gifts to myself, but pass them on to others. Amen.
Where have you experienced God’s comfort in your life? How can you intentionally comfort others out of this experience?
No one likes a ball hog. These people keep the ball to themselves in team sports and fail to share with others. I have watched enough basketball games to know these ball hogs just slow down the game and no one wants to play with them. Sadly, in the same way we can potentially be spiritual ball hogs. We can keep all of God’s gifts to ourselves and inevitably no one will want to be around us. So how can we stay away from this ball hog perspective?
We need to recognize that God showers gifts upon us not so we can enjoy them by ourselves, but so we can pass them on to others. Kirk Franklin, a Gospel musician, wrote a song that says, “Bless me, bless me, God not just for me, but so everyone around me can have everything they need.” This seems to reflect how Paul begins his second letter to the church in Corinth. Paul says the church has been blessed with comfort. God is pouring his comfort into their lives in the midst of difficult circumstances. He is meeting their needs, not by transforming their circumstances, but by changing their hearts. Yet God works in their lives, not just for their own comfort, but so they can comfort others. God never gives to us as an end, but instead to be a channel who passes his grace, compassion, and blessings upon others.
Father God, thank you for the comfort and compassion I continually receive from you. Help me not to keep these gifts to myself, but pass them on to others. Amen.
Where have you experienced God’s comfort in your life? How can you intentionally comfort others out of this experience?
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