2 Corinthians 9:1-5 (HCSB)
Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you. For I know your eagerness, and I brag about you to the Macedonians: “Achaia has been prepared since last year,” and your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I sent the brothers so our boasting about you in the matter would not prove empty, and so you would be prepared just as I said. For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be embarrassed in that situation. Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.
Paul trusted in God explicitly, but he knew human nature very well. He understood that human memories are sometimes slippery, and our passion can cool very quickly. What is vitally important today can be shelved by something that strikes us more deeply tomorrow.
But he also knew that the commitment the Corinthians had made a year before had been genuine and heartfelt – so heartfelt, in fact, that he had used their commitment to encourage other churches to give. And that tactic had been powerful and effective, prompting even those in the poorer Macedonian churches to give beyond their means (8:1-5).
Because their initial commitment had been so instrumental in his fund-raising success, and because he would have some of those Macedonians with him when he arrived in Corinth in just a few weeks, Paul didn’t want the Corinthians to be caught flat-footed, without the gift that they had committed to originally. So, Paul was sending the small contingent to them to ensure that everything was ready for Paul’s arrival. Their job would be to remind the Corinthians of their prior commitment, and to help them gather the funds, instead of having them try to whip together a last-minute offering, which Paul feared would be given grudgingly instead of joyfully and generously.
Father, You are right that if left to our own devices, our original passions cool, and can even die if they are not kept hot by a daily recommitment. That is even true of our love for You! If we don’t tend the fire of our commitment daily, through prayer, study of Your word, and meditation on Your love and what You have done in our lives, our first love can grow as cold as that of the Ephesian Christians (Revelation 2:4). And your advice to them is important for us to remember as well: to remember, repent, and recommit ourselves to You daily, so that the breath of Your Holy Spirit can fan the dying embers of our commitment into powerful flames of love. Amen.